Out of Control
by Bakura's Girl88
Summary: Everyone who's seen Ryou Bakura has 2 admit the boy is thin. But now he is beginning to feel the exact opposite. What can his friends and sister do?{Completed}
1. Cruel Words

Chapter 1: Cruel Words  
  
Ryou's POV  
"Bakura, you wanna duel at my house?"  
"No thanks, Yugi. I really should get home. My house is a mess."  
I waved to Yugi and didn't let him see my depression. When I got home, I put my shoes neatly by the door and took out the cleaning supplies. My stomach was aching with hunger though, so I ripped open a bag of potato chips, a rare treat for me. They were so good, even though they were plain...  
"Having fun?"  
I choked on a mouthful of chips.  
"No. No sir."  
"Then why are you eating like a pig instead of cleaning?"  
"I was h-hungry," I replied shakily to my yami. He was a bit angry at something, Ra knows what. Anyways, he cracked me hard on the jaw. I felt it pop uncomfortably.  
"Oww..." I whimpered quietly.  
"What was that?" my yami asked dangerously.  
"I...I sald I'll glt to cleanling thle hloulse," I replied, slurring my speech with L's by accident due to the numbing pain in my jaw. What I meant to say was "I...I said I'll get to cleaning the house."  
"That's what I thought," he replied distractedly. I put the chips back into the pantry, then went into my bathroom to relieve myself and apply something to alleviate the pain in my jaw. All I could find was some Bengay, which would have to do. After I used the bathroom, I stared hard at the bathroom scale. Last time I had checked, I weighed 115 pounds.  
That was a week ago.  
All of a sudden, I had become interested in weighing myself. I felt fat for some reason. Perhaps the fact that my yami's comment about me eating made me feel self-conscious. I nervously stepped onto the scale.  
120.  
120 pounds!! God, he was right! I was fat! And a pig to boot!! I didn't know what to do for a moment. My eyes shifted restlessly.  
"The Ring!"  
I wrenched the Millennium Ring from under my shirt and hurled it powerfully outside the bathroom. As the bathroom was near the stairs, I could hear the Ring clatter down the steps. I was satisfied. Yami Bakura wouldn't know.  
I turned on my heel. I was so nervous for what I was about to do.  
I'd heard of models who made themselves skinny by throwing up.  
"Err..."  
I bent over the toilet nervously, index finger extended and shaking. I didn't feel like doing it, but it was the only way. I started moving it to the back of my throat. I gagged and tears stung my eyes as I retched air.  
"Huckk!! Huck!! Bleagchhk!!!!"  
I stopped moving my finger back when I threw up on my entire fist. I removed the hand and gripped the toilet seat as I continued to heave all the potato chips mixed with the bile in my stomach. I burped wetly and stepped away from the toilet as I stopped. I was panting as I cleaned the filthy, sticky contents of my stomach from my hands. I felt so empty and weak.  
I LIKED IT!!  
I smiled at the fact that I was empty. That meant I couldn't gain weight. 


	2. I'm Not Hungry

I know I only got 1 review for this story, but I wanna continue it. If you read it, do me a favor and review if you like it even a little.-_-U.  
  
Chapter 2: I'm Not Hungry  
  
Ryou's POV  
  
I woke up at 10:13.  
"Guh."  
I still felt queasy from last night. And I was so hungry it wasn't funny.  
But I flat out refused to eat or drink anything. It was a good thing it was Saturday, because I felt too weak to do much of anything. I ignored my growling stomach and sat to watch T.V. It was then that I noticed that my yami was nowhere to be found. He usually didn't parade in his astro-form a lot. I call it an astro form when he turns all see through-y. So, it was strange, him being gone in astro-body. Since he was gone though, and I was pissed at him for calling me fat, I decided to go to Yugi's house.  
"Ohh."  
I had barely started to my room when I collapsed in weakness.  
"Urk."  
I pushed myself up and resumed my business as if nothing had happened.  
By 11:00, I was dressed. I called Yugi and told him I was heading over. I should have said I was stumbling over, because that's what I was really doing. I arrived to see that Joey and Tristan were also at Yugi's place. Not exactly a good thing for what I'd wanted to say. Oh well. I could wait till some other time.  
"Hey guys," I greeted kindly.  
"Hey, Bakura. Whassup?" Joey greeted me back.  
"'Tsup?" Tristan muttered absorbed in a magazine I'm not at liberty to describe.  
"Nothing much," I replied.  
"So Ryou, didn't you want to say something?" Yugi asked me.  
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."  
I grimaced at the pain in my gut. I really should have eaten, but like I said, I wasn't about to eat or drink anything that could alter my body weight in a negative way.  
"Bakura, are you all right there?" Tristan queried. "You look kinda pale."  
"Whatcha talkin' about, Tristan? He always looks kinda pale."  
"Shut up, Joey. I mean he really looks pale. I think..."  
"Stop arguing, you two. I'm fine. Really."  
I convinced them, but I'm not really sure I convinced myself. I felt like I was about to."  
BLORTCH!"  
I threw up on the game store floor. It wasn't much. It was just a reaction to the fact that I was hungry...no, I wasn't...I'm not hungry...  
I passed out on the floor.  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
  
"Ack!" I felt a dizzying...something...overwhelm me. If it was just the pain in a normal sense, I wouldn't give a rat's ass about it. But this was somehow different.  
"Damn. He fainted."  
I had left the little fool at home alone. There was a blank period sometime yesterday when I didn't know what in the name of Ra he was doing and I was too lazy to "astro-form," like he called it. But when I went into the bathroom, which was the last place we were connected, I noticed that it had been hastily cleaned and that there was a spot of what appeared to be vomit on the inside. Just a little. And he was astoundingly hungry today. It was bothering me. I hope that his little ass wasn't taking that comment yesterday too seriously. I was just pushing his buttons. It's damn funny to do that. That's why I'd left the house, too. I was a bit pissed at him for leaving me in the dark yesterday. At least nobody (other than Yami and Yami Malik) could see me if I decided to walk around Domino in "astro-form." But this fainting business made me feel like he was hiding something big from me. And I was still starving since he hadn't eaten.  
"Shit head! I'll make you eat! I'll possess you!"  
  
Yugi's POV  
It was definitely strange when Ryou threw up, stranger when he fainted, but it was strangest that he tried so readily to deny it and it worked. He wasn't a good liar at all. I shook my musings away and tried to heave him into a chair. Eventually, Tristan helped. We woke him up with a cold, damp cloth and he moaned.  
"Let me alone, Yugi. Let me alone..."  
''You're not well, Bakura," I told him.  
He really didn't look well. His face was gaunt and he had circles under his eyes from fatigue. And his stomach was growling very loudly.  
"Let me be. I... didn't have any sleep last night..."  
The answer was with slight hesitation, so I knew he was worse than he was letting on. I checked his arms and neck for bruises. I came upon a big swollen spot on his jaw that was covered by his shaggy hair.  
"Did...did your yami do this to you?" I asked nervously.  
"Hit...my jaw...that's all..."  
Then why is he so sick? I thought. It was puzzling for sure.  
"Yugi, I'm tired. Let me sleep..."  
"Eat a sandwich or something, then I'll let you sleep."  
"I'm not hungry," he whined. His stomach groaned loudly.  
"Eat or else you won't sleep."  
"Oh, fine then..."  
I got a roast beef sandwich from my lunch and gave it to him.  
"Thanks..." he muttered sourly.  
: Wonder what's the matter with him:  
:: Best keep a close eye on him:: Yami told me. ::I think that he's not telling us something::  
: I know...:  
I turned to Bakura as he took a bite of my sandwich and chewed it slowly. At about the second or third bite, he retched it back up.  
"Ah! What's the matter with you, Bakura?! You need to eat, so what's wrong?!"  
"I...dunno...I need to lie down and get some rest..."  
Bakura looked horrible.  
"Try to drink some soda or something."  
But when I got him a soda, he just threw it back up like he did with the sandwich. He shivered, then curled up into a tight fetal position. Considering how susceptible to hurt and sickness Bakura was, I decided to call 911.  
  
That's what I gots. I didn't mean to be so descriptive in the 1st chapter, but I had to take up some space. Anyways, R&R please. 


	3. Critical Condition

I just had this sudden spurt of inspiration to keep this story going. I don't know why. Anywho, I'll try to keep all my stories going, because I'm a pretty fast typer. And I may guess on some parts of illnesses and stuff, so don't eat me. Oh yeah, and if my little dot-dot-dot pauses get deleted, it's just because they fused into one kind of punctuation. And if you wanna know if you've come across that problem, it's when there's a period and an uncapitalized letter.  
  
Chapter 3: Critical Condition  
  
Ryou's POV  
I coughed as I held my fetal position tightly. What's wrong with me? Is this all somehow my fault. I didn't mean for this to happen. I wasn't lying about being tired. I couldn't sleep after I'd retrieved the Ring, for the guilt was horrible. I'd slept for one hour, two tops. Why is this happening? So hungry...so tired...so thirsty...  
I had a bad stomachache and that's why I was in this position. It hurts...  
"Stop hurting..."  
  
Yugi's POV  
  
"Stop hurting..." I heard Ryou mutter the words before he passed out again. "Don't worry," I muttered to him. "Help is on the way." The ambulance arrived pretty quickly. Joey and Tristan were trying to keep Bakura conscious, but it wasn't working. He blacked out every time. As soon as the paramedics arrived, they put Bakura on a stretcher and hauled him into the ambulance. I was the one who was to go with him, the three of us agreed. I sat next to him, where he began to spasm in pain and panic. The doctors had to tie him down to the stretcher, where he resumed struggling and began to shout weakly. Very weakly.  
"Stop...get off...I don't wanna..."  
I came up next to him.  
"Its okay, Baku. They're here to help you."  
"Don't want help..." he muttered.  
  
Ryou's POV  
  
"Don't want help..." I told them frantically.  
I was so weak now. I was tied down onto what I assumed to be a stretcher. But it might not be. I felt very uncomfortable being on something I couldn't identify with sight. Scared, even. I  
My mental link with Yami Bakura was cut of as I began to get very sick. The people turned my head and I heard a wet splash as my puke hit something plastic. I heard a person muttering for another to keep my head turned so I wouldn't choke. So I was on a stretcher. And I was in an ambulance. The sirens were hurting my head now.  
"You don't need to tie me down anymore. It hurts when you do that. It's okay. I know where I am..."  
Yugi told them to trust me and they unfastened the belt-like things that held me down.  
"Thank you..."  
I pushed myself into a sitting position and opened my eyes halfway.  
"I'm not sick, I swear. I'm not sick in a bad way. It's just the flu..."  
"Ryou, stop lying. That's not the truth and you know it."  
I blinked.  
"That's what you wanted to tell me isn't it? Tell me now. What's wrong with you?"  
My eyes shifted restlessly. "I can't tell you now. I can't..."  
I fainted again.  
  
Yugi's POV  
I wanted to know what he was trying to hide, but he wouldn't tell me in front of other people, that's for sure.  
When we arrived at the hospital, they immediately took him into the emergency room.  
"Wait here, Mr. Mutou..."  
"Hey, Mr. Mutou is my grandpa. Just call me Yugi."  
"Well, Yugi. Wait out here. We'll have a report on Mr. Bakura in a while. Does he have any family nearby?"  
"No. His dad is on a dig in Mexico City."  
"So, would you like him to have a private room?"  
"Yes. I'd like that."  
"Okay. A doctor will be here to talk about his condition in a while."  
A while obviously meant thirty or so minutes, because that's how long it took. I wasn't even related to Bakura and I was worried sick for him. Somebody had to be.  
"We've found out what's wrong with him," the same man told him. "He is extremely dehydrated and that's why he can't take in food and water by himself. At the moment, he is being intravenously hydrated. You may go to see him if that is what you wish. If anyone else is to be allowed in, then tell us their names."  
"Yeah. There's quite a few. Ayari K. Crawford, Sakura Bakura, Malik Ishtar, Tèa Gardner, Tristan Taylor, Joey Wheeler, my grandpa Solomon Mutou, and if his father can come, then his name is Shen Bakura. Sakura is his sister."  
"Very well. His room number is 206."  
Yugi went to Bakura's room and was surprised to see that he was already much better than before. He looked less ill anyway.  
"Hey, Yugi. I'm okay, now. They've got me attached to some potassium chloride stuff."  
He motioned to the I.V. on his arm.  
"I've told the doctors to let your friends and family see you, but this is a private room other than that. Now, is there anything you want to tell me? Anything at all?"  
  
Ryou's POV  
"Now is there anything you want to tell me? Anything at all?" I shifted uncomfortably in my hospital bed. I had wanted to tell Yugi something, but I wasn't so sure I still wanted to. I sighed heavily.  
"Yes. There is something I wanted to tell you. Yesterday, when Sakura was sleeping over at Ayari's, I told you that I needed to clean...and so I went home..."  
I paused to rub my jaw.  
"I was hungry, so I ate some potato chips. I ate them until Yami Bakura caught me. And he hit me on the jaw. Well, my jaw was hurting pretty bad at the moment, but I guess it doesn't matter."  
At that exact moment, I felt Yami Bakura's incessant nagging thought- speech.  
  
I yanked the Ring off, a little too brutally. The leather strap popped off.  
"Uh-oh..." I said. I'd better pick up a chain or something, or else my yami would have my hide.  
"What's the matter?" Yugi asked me.  
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong."  
I decided the best motion was to painstakingly continue my story.  
"Well...uh...where was I? Oh yes...well, I decided to rub some Bengay on my jaw. It was the only thing we had. That's when I became concerned with my weight. I never had a problem with it before, but I've kind of become self-conscious. When I weighed myself, I weighed in at 120, and as you might not know, I used to weigh 115. My yami had called me a pig before, so I knew that I was getting fat. So I...I made myself...throw up. Lots of models do that to make themselves skinny, so I took a bash at it myself and I didn't eat or drink another thing since. That's probably why I got dehydrated. And I had thrown the Ring downstairs, so Yami doesn't know. I'm so ashamed."  
Yugi seemed concerned about my little escapade.  
"You mean that just because you were five pounds heavier and your yami said you were fat, you made yourself vomit?" he repeated weakly.  
"I suppose. Please don't tell anyone Yugi. Promise me you won't tell anyone, save your yami. And don't let him gossip with Malik. It'll get out. Promise me you won't."  
I was very clear about that. Yugi had to promise. Even though I hang out more with Ayari, Malik, and my sister, that doesn't mean I want to tell them my dirty little secret.  
"I promise I won't tell anyone other than Yami, Baku. You have my word."  
I smiled at Yugi widely, then I leaned forward and gave him a friendly hug, which he returned.  
"Thank you, Yugi."  
  
Another chapter bites the dust. Be kind and true! Review! And just in case anyone was wondering, there will be no yaoi or shounen-ai or whatever the **** it's called. Also, I know I'm doing a lot of POV changing, but it's necessary. So, at this loss of words, I say to you this. PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEEAASE REVIEW! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HEINOUS AND YAMI BAKURA!!! 


	4. I'm Going Home

YEEE-HAAAH! Three reviews! I can't believe some people actually like this story. If you like my other stories, review them, especially Be Who You Want To Be or even maybe Needles. I work hard to get appreciated, even if the stories may be junk. Tell me what ya think of my work. It makes me feel all tingly inside. ^____^. FYI for the people who don't know Japanese (Kill my friend if 3-5 of these aren't right)  
  
Yami-Darkness  
  
Hikari-Light  
  
Daijoubou-something along the lines of..."Are you alright?"  
  
Onee-chan-sister  
  
Onii-chan-brother  
  
Shimatta!-"Damn it!" *Something Y. Bakura would say*  
  
Baka-idiot  
  
Oh, and Bakura is 16 years old, for people who don't remember ^___^  
  
Chapter 4: I'm Going Home  
  
Ryou's POV  
After an all night stay at the hospital (During which time Sakura had worried her brains out about me), I was allowed to go back home. I ate to make everyone happy, and I generally tried to enjoy myself. That wasn't going to happen.  
"Sakura onee-chan, I'm home!" I called, hanging my coat on our coat hanger.  
"Bakura onii-chan! Welcome back! Daijoubou?"  
"Daijoubou, sister. Really, I'm okay."  
"Oh, Baku-kun, I've missed you so. I've even missed Yami Bakura's company."  
I smiled. As much as my yami and Sakura argued, I knew they had a place in each other's heart for one another. In fact, Sakura had told me herself that if Yami wasn't related to her by 5000 year descendance, she would have considered liking, even loving him. However, related as they were, she treated him with as much affection as he deserved, which was minimal.  
"Are you on any medication?" she queried.  
"Yes, a bit. It helps to keep my appetite healthy so that my dehydration doesn't repeat itself."  
I took in a deep breath.  
"Is dad coming to see us like he'd planned?"  
Sakura looked away.  
"Shen-I mean Dad, said he'll not be able to come for another week. He was very sorry and said for us to take the money for your medical bill from his bank account, not ours.  
I sighed in amusement. I wouldn't dare do that. It's his money, not mine. My stomach writhed as I contemplated another week of survival with my Yami. I got really nervous really quickly most of the time, and I found that the only way to cure it was to vomit or to sleep. I preferred sleep.  
"Sakura-chan, I'm going to rest. Can you and-dare I say-Yami keep watch over things?"  
"Don't worry, Baku. I won't let that jerk ruin things, or wake you up."  
She kissed me on the cheek and I returned the same kiss on hers. I loved my little sister. Yes, we're twins, but hey, like she so repetitiously makes me state, I am five minutes older. I headed to our room and took my shirt off. There were large scars on my back that marred the pale skin. Punishments from my yami. Even on my hand, I hold the scar that I obtained from the point of a castle top on my Monster World Game. Well, it did me no good to dwell on the past, so I simply curled up catlike in my bed and drifted to sleep.  
  
Sakura's POV  
I sighed as Ryou went to sleep. I didn't much like the scars on his back. Yami Bakura had caused them, which made me angry in so many different ways.  
"Poor Baku-kun. I do feel sorry for him..."  
"Don't, foolish little onee-chan. He interfered with my plans, so he had to pay."  
I sighed again. I didn't mind him calling me "foolish" or "onee- chan," but he didn't have to say that Bakura deserved it. He didn't deserve those beatings.  
"After all this battle city crap, you still blame it on him. Reality check: he never interfered at all. He hadn't any idea what you were doing. The only thing he knew was that he got hurt in some phenomenon he couldn't explain and BAM! Next thing he knows, he's in a duel on a blimp with his arm laid open and bleeding like the Amazon River."  
"How would you know? You didn't come until after Battle City!"  
That was true. I came to live with my brother a short while after. Long story, I'm not at liberty to talk about it now.  
"I didn't need to be here to know about it. Yugi and Marik told me about it. They also told me that no matter what, Ryou wanted that Ring. He wanted it back, and that led to the final TRPG game you played. And you lost."  
I chuckled bemusedly. I loved to get on his nerves and vice versa.  
"So what if I lost? I'm not gone, am I?"  
"Might as well be, for all the bad you are now, Mr. Nice."  
"Shut the hell up!"  
"Make me, Yami!"  
"How many times must I tell you not to call me yami, you little bitch?"  
Despite his words, he conked me on the head quite playfully. I smacked his shoulder a bit harder than he'd done me. Just because I hate him doesn't mean I can't like him a little. It's just like Ayari and Marik relationship with us, except for the boyfriend/girlfriend thing. We argue, but it's all out of love! Not that I like him, like him. I just like him. He's like that annoying brother with the humongous ego that you hate to love and love to hate.  
Anyway, while Ryou slept, we generally, though quietly, got on each other's nerves. He eventually woke up, then said he was gonna finish up cleaning the house as he knew I wouldn't have bothered. It got on my nerves how he was always right.  
  
Yes, yes, this chapter sucks, but how is Ryou gonna do anything when he just got home from the hospital? It'd look to suspicious, no? Anyway, the next chapter may be the same, or he may have another little venture, but either way, everyone will eventually find out. And just so ya know, Sakura and Ayari belong to me and my friend, AyariChan02. Sakura isn't really his twin sister, but I like it that way. Shen isn't his father's name either. It's just some crap I made up for story purposes. Keep reviewin' if you wanna see more of my stories. By the way, if you need any info on either Bakura, ask me. I'm the authority for info on that. *flashes badge for said authority* 


	5. Relapse

So, like I said, last chapter sucked. This one I hope will come out better. When I do this, I just do what comes out of my head because I flat-out refuse to write this. So when there's repetitive or stupid stuff, that's when I got into my music or when I daydreamed. Now that we've got that established, let's get on with this chapter!  
  
Chapter 5: Relapse  
  
Ryou's POV  
  
Sakura loves it when I clean the house. I get dressed in this apron and tie my hair up, so I kind of look like her. One time, she even took pictures of me curtseying in my cleaning clothes. We showed those to Malik and Ayari. Boy, did they have a laugh.  
So, when I was done cleaning, Sakura and I played around with my Ouija board. It was kinda fun on account of the fact that Yami always spelled out stuff. He was a spirit after all. He didn't have to make himself visible to us.  
"So, Baku onii-chan, do you think there's life beyond this dimension?" Sakura asked coyly. The pointer which we had our hands on moved.  
YES.  
The pointer now began to move on its own again.  
I-W-I-L-L-K-I-L-L-Y-O-U-B-O-T-H.  
I smiled knowingly.  
"Nice try, Yami. I know you're trying to cheer me up because you were a jerk."  
My yami appeared out of thin air and looked at me with what seemed to be a bit of pity.  
"Look. I said look, stupid!"  
He snatched my shoulder and whirled me to face him, then he himself turned away with his lopsided frown, eyes looking up.  
"Whatever happened might have been my fault. I didn't mean for you to end up in the condition where you were in."  
I picked my ear with my index finger.  
"Did I just hear right, or did you not say sorry to me?"  
"Did you hear me say sorry? I didn't think so. I didn't say sorry!" Yami Bakura snapped harshly. What could I do, but smile? Then again, that made him slap me on my sore jaw. The only thing I could then do was yell in agony as my jaw exploded in pain.  
"Owww!!!! Oww ow!!"  
Sakura punched him so hard that he spun in a 360 degree circle and landed on his head. Even if he had a thing for self-mutilation and pain, that didn't mean he couldn't be rendered unconscious. I closed my eyes in my pain, then his pain joined me.  
"Sorry, Baku-kun. I couldn't let him do that to you."  
Sakura hugged me tight.  
"If he punishes you while I'm at Ayari's house tonight, just give me a call. I'll set his yami-fied butt straight.  
"Okay, Sakura-chan. Have a good time. Don't beat Malik up and make sure Ayari doesn't beat him up too bad."  
"...so that means I can beat Malik down and let Ayari beat him up a little?"  
"You got it."  
Sakura and I made that a bit of a ritual, to lay down rules like that.  
****  
  
A FEW HOURS LATER...  
  
I wasn't feeling too good. I'd taken my medication and I'd eaten some, but for some reason, it felt so wrong. Once again, I found myself feeling very, very self-conscious.  
I walked into the bathroom, Millennium Ring tucked under the pillow in my room. Very nervously, I removed my shoes and socks before stepping lightly onto the bathroom scale.  
116 pounds.  
Hey, not bad. I was still overweight for myself, but I had cut it down by 4 pounds. And as long as I didn't get dehydrated this time, I think I could actually lessen my weight harm-free...  
Wait! What was I saying?! Am I nuts?  
No. Just desperate.  
I strode to the toilet, leaned over, and held out my index finger...  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
  
Something felt very foreboding.  
I had long since woken up from that hit to my head. I felt like killing Sakura, Ra damn it.  
And yet I can't. Even I cannot fathom what prevents me from doing it.  
But more to the point, I had lost my connection with Ryou's mind. I could always connect to him through mind-link (as well as Sakura) whenever he wore the Millennium Ring. But he'd taken the damn thing off again. That's when I began to worry. That's when I remembered something that Sakura had told me about one time.  
"...once, when I was thirteen, I was diagnosed with a small case of anorexia, Yami Bakura."  
"And why are you telling me this?"  
"I dunno. I just wanted to tell someone. Do you want to hear the rest?"  
"Go on..."  
And she had gone on to say that she had forced her body to expel it's last meal, via the mouth. In other words, she forced herself to vomit. It had only happened once, according to her, because the doctor had caught the disease in time. But she and Bakura were twins, could he contract that horrible disease? Even I didn't know. All I knew was that I would find out.  
  
I made a false body and headed for the bathroom.  
***  
  
An evil cliffhanger!! I will update soon. Promise. Oh, and if you see me slip up on the Malik/Marik thing, I'm sorry. I use both versions of his name. If you like, review. If you sorta like, review anyway. Please don't flame. 


	6. It Was Something I Ate

So, another few days, another chapter up. Not bad, huh? This one may be the kicker. We're getting closer to a bit of surprise for the cast.  
  
Chapter 6: It Was Something I Ate  
  
Ryou's POV  
I was panting just as the first time, when my Yami burst in through the door.  
"R-Ryou..."  
My eyes were half-lidded and I know I looked very disdainful with a bit of spit on my chin.  
"Ya...mi..." I croaked uselessly. "T-this isn't what it l-looks like...I'm s-sick...must've been something I ate..."  
"Don't bother telling me lies, I can tell if you're lying. I will determine that now, but first..."  
I suddenly feared for my health when I looked into his eyes.  
"Don't ever take this Ring off again, unless you want to suffer a beating. Only at school can you take it off. If you feel the need to take it off, you ask me first, then get refused. Got it?"  
"..."  
I couldn't answer out of weakness. I was nearly gasping for breath out of fear and shortness of breath.  
"Tell me, though. Are you really sick? Truly and honestly?"  
He stared at me and I shivered before throwing up again.  
"You're taking Nyquil then."  
"Uck!"  
"Don't give me any of those damn complaints, hikari! You will get better. I'll make sure of it. I don't need that damn sister of yours complaining, or Ayari saying it's entirely my fault. Now get your ass in bed. I'll..."  
I saw his face contort with what he was about to say.  
"...I'll clean this shit up."  
I cleaned myself up and stumbled weakly to the door, but before I could go to my room, Yami Bakura spun me around.  
"Why did you take off the Ring off at these certain moments when you became ill?" he asked.  
I could truthfully answer that question.  
"I didn't want...you to get sick...because of me...you'd beat me..."  
Yami Bakura stared at me with a cocked eyebrow.  
"Get out of here!" he yelled. "Now!"  
He sounded insulted, but I do not know why...  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
As soon as Bakura left, I let my anger explode.  
"Damn! Damn! Damn! Shit! Why me?!?"  
I flushed the toilet filled with my hikari's puke, then I proceeded to clean up the mess in the bathroom, breaking Sakura's favorite bathroom ornament in the process.  
"SHIT!"  
Sakura would never forgive me for that. It was one of two ornaments that she and Ryou had made, one for her brother that she'd made, one for her that Ryou had made. Dammit, she'd hate me. I moved to get the other to a safer place, but my clumsy hands, trembling in insuppressible rage, dropped the ornament, which shattered into several pieces of ceramic. By now, it was possible that Bakura was sleeping, so I just cursed under my breath in Egyptian. At that moment, I broke down.  
"That little bastard!" I whispered. "If I say I want to be a bit nicer to him, everyone treats me worse."  
I was only a transparent spirit at the moment, so the knife in my pocket was transparent too, but it would do its work. As long as I didn't will it to, my pain would never reach Ryou's flesh.  
I opened the switchblade and slashed it across my sensitive forearm. Blood gushed, real blood, and I gasped at the sudden pain. It felt so good! I slashed across that and my arm was absolutely bathed in blood and agony. I had grown to like pain and blood. Yes, I was a masochist. I knew where to cut for the most pain, the most blood, and I knew where not to put pressure.  
I suddenly realized I was crying in pain. I never did that, but as I realized, the pain brought pain, not comfort. I put my arm up and drank in the blood, then spat it out. The blood tasted like blood, not what comforted me. Why did these things not comfort me?  
I slashed blindly and deeply on my leg. The pain made me scream, not sigh in relief. Why, why, why can't I enjoy it anymore? I cried, despite myself. I, Yami Bakura, King of Thieves, was crying. So, this is what depression felt like...I'd nearly forgotten, after 5000 years of immortality. I curled up into a quivering, bleeding ball. What the hell was wrong with me? I decided to call Sakura. Maybe she would know. But to do that, I'd need Ryou's body. It was enough to have to force my metaphysical body to touch a few things and clean the bathroom, but that sapped energy. Suddenly, Bakura burst in.  
"Yami, I heard screaming and...and...ohh..."  
The display of blood before him must have been bad, for he fainted immediately after he saw me.  
"Ryou, wake up now. Now! Please!"  
No good. I checked the time on his watch. 8:00 at night. But, but Sakura was coming back at eight...  
"Fellas, I'm back!"  
I felt my blood run cold as she entered the bathroom, where she'd seen Bakura's legs laying just outside the doorframe.  
"My God!" she said, screaming. She put a hand to her forehead and it seemed as if she would faint onto her brother. "Y-Yami Bakura, w-what's going on?"  
"I...c-c-cut...he...sick..."  
It all came out wrong. I was so weak from blood loss...  
  
Sakura's POV  
"I...c-c-cut...he...sick..."  
After the jumbled sentence, Yami Bakura fell forward in a dead faint.  
  
"Who's cut? Who's sick?" I asked no one in particular. "What the freak's going on?!"  
I pulled Bakura out and I flipped Yami Bakura onto his back. He was the one who was cut. He had two large slashes on his left arm and a deep, lengthy one on his leg. So that meant that Baku was the sick one. I dragged Bakura to his bed and let him sleep. I left Yami Bakura in the bathroom, so when I came back, I could tend to his wounds, but he'd already disappeared.  
  
"Something strange is going on!" I said suspiciously. Yami Bakura must have been in pain, but he normally likes pain like that. And he didn't hurt Ryou, which I could understand, but only the utmost depression could make someone not enjoy something they like, and he could only get depression from Ryou...  
"What am I missing here?"  
  
Check later to see exactly what it is that Sakura's missing. I know you want to. That's all I got to say. Read and Review, guys. See that purple button in the left corner? You'll see something cool if you press it! 


	7. Who Is The Yami And Who Is The Hikari?

I've been sick for two days with the stomach flu, so I haven't been typing, but here's the seventh chapter of my story.  
  
Chapter 7: Who Is The Yami And Who's The Hikari?  
  
Sakura's POV  
"Brother, are you alright?"  
"Mmm...Sakura?"  
"Yeah. Is everything all right?"  
"Yes. It's all okay. I just got sick is all."  
"Are you sure?"  
"I am. Yami said I had to take Nyquil, so, you know, I have to."  
He grimaced at that.  
"I'll get you some. For once, Yami Bakura was right."  
"Yami Bakura...Sakura, is he okay!! There was blood and..."  
  
"I dunno, Bakura. He disappeared into his soul room before I could do anything," I replied to my brother.  
"Oh...I suppose he'll heal while he's in there..."  
"Ryou, he was really depressed. That's what I could read from him. He couldn't even relish his pain. And he could only get depression from you."  
"I don't get it," Ryou said.  
I stared at him hard. Something wasn't clicking.  
  
A WEEK LATER  
  
"Sakura, I have to go clothes shopping."  
Ryou sounded happy that he needed to go clothes shopping. It had been a week since he got sick. Yami Bakura was acting strange, but had more or less gotten better.  
"Why do you need to go clothes shopping? I thought you hated it," I replied.  
"My clothes are getting too big for me."  
"Wh-what? Too big for you of all people?"  
I turned to my brother. Something was starting to occur to me. I found Ryou lounging about the house, eating ravenously sometimes. There's no way he could have gotten smaller...or skinnier...  
At that thought, something clicked in my head.  
"Take your shirt off."  
"Do I have to?"  
"Take it off NOW!"  
"Okay, geesh, sister."  
He removed his green button up shirt, which was slightly sagging on him and I gasped. I knew we were both skinny enough to see our ribs a bit, but this was wrong. His ribs seemed to almost be breaking through his pale skin. His arms were like slender sticks and he had practically no stomach. I'd seen pictures of Jews in concentration camps during Holocaust study that looked better than he did. Upon further inspection of his face, I saw that it was gaunt, his hair was limper, and there were dark circles under his eyes. My suspicions were confirmed at that moment.  
"Sister, what's wrong?"  
I was at a loss for words. I could have kicked myself for not noticing the changes.  
"So...so that's what this is all about..." I said slowly.  
"What are you..."  
"The dehydration...the sickness...the weakness...Yami Bakura's depression and confusion...It's all because of me..."  
"Please tell me what's going on!" Ryou said, very frightened at my behavior.  
"You...you've been...you have...get your clothes on. We're going to the hospital."  
"There's nothing wrong with me!" he pouted.  
"Yes there is...there is something seriously wrong with you...and I've been so stupid to ignore the changes..."  
"I hate hospitals, Sakura. You know I hate going unless it's necessary..."  
"We're going, onii-chan. Yami Bakura-san, come out."  
"What do you want, Sakura?"  
Yami Bakura's voice was soft and confused. His wounds he'd refused to heal automatically. They were still there. His upper body was exposed, and he looked kind of...  
"Ryou's not well. We must take him to the hospital."  
"I'm fine."  
Ryou coughed and fell to his knees, a result of his weakness.  
"I'm okay...leave me alone..."  
"He says he's fine, leave him alone," Yami Bakura said indifferently. He hadn't looked up.  
"Yami Bakura, snap out of it! All these bad feelings are coming from him. For once, he's hurting you, not the other way around."  
"He wouldn't hurt me...he's not like that..."  
I grew frustrated and turned Yami Bakura's head to Ryou's body.  
"Look! He's sick. He needs our help!"  
"Oh, Ra..."  
Yami Bakura took in his hikari's looks and gasped.  
"I'll help..."  
He got up to help, but collapsed in pain from his gaping knife wounds. Once again, he tried, and he succeeded in getting a hold of Bakura.  
  
"Listen to Sakura... you are not well..."  
"I'm fine!! Leave me be!!!"  
Bakura blindly threw his arm out and by chance hit his own yami's inner forearm.  
"Argh!"  
Yami Bakura collapsed again in pain. It was scary. Ryou was very hostile, and Yami Bakura was confused and passive. I ran to call Ayari.  
  
Malik's POV  
  
"Ayari, I'm tired of playing charades with these Ra-damned cards!"  
"Hey, if Yami Bakura could do it with me, then so can you!" the girl snapped at me. Who couldn't stay angry at a chick like that? She was okay.  
RIING!! RIING!!  
"I got it!" I said.  
"It's probably for Dad," Ayari told me disinterestedly.  
I ran for it anyway, and picked it up.  
"Crawford residence, Malik Ishtar speaking."  
"Malik, we've got problems."  
"NO WE DON'T!" I heard Bakura shout over his sister angrily,  
"What's the problem, Sakura?" I asked.  
"Bakura's sick. I believe I know what it is, but I need help getting him to the hospital. He's being really irritable."  
"Use reverse psychology on him. We'll be there in a flash."  
"Can do. See ya."  
I hung up and turned to Ayari.  
"Ayari, we have to go. Something's wrong with Bakura."  
"Exactly what is wrong with him?" Ayari asked me. I shrugged in annoyance.  
"I don't know, but from the sounds of it, I think we should take my motor cycle and ride like a coupla bats outta hell."  
Ayari nodded and dove into her closet for her helmet. After she got it, we were gone in a flash, just like I'd said. Like I had any problem speeding in this motorcycle.  
  
Sakura's POV  
  
"Sakura, why won't you believe me?" Ryou asked angrily.  
I didn't answer, but the truth was that I'd had a less intense case of what he had. I knew how he felt, and it made me ache to have to see him like this. He'd at least put his shirt on, so I didn't have to look upon his upper body. Even though Yami Bakura looked better, it had nothing to do with the weight. I just thought he looked handsome, but he was seriously affected by Bakura's condition. I heard a knock at the door.  
  
That's the end of this chapter. It's a bit stupid, I know, but my mind's kinda numb-feeling. Probably cuz I'm getting over this flu, or maybe it's the fact that I was at Katrice's (aka AyariChan02) house and her evil telescope hit me in the head as I was en route to one of her Anime Insider mags. Oh, well. As for that hostility thing, I added that in there blindly because well, what would you think if you thought you were okay, and everyone thought you were sick? If you've ever seen commercials for the Recess movie, you'd know what I'm talking about. Anywho, R&R for this. And I hope you peoples haven't forgotten about the College Years. It's getting slowly and surely updated, so you can review that one, too. 


	8. The Sickness Appears and Yami Bakura's a...

Hey, it's me again. Don't have much to say, other than this little translation thing that I'm not so sure about.  
  
Touzoku-ou- Thief King, King of Thieves, something like that.  
  
Sakura's POV  
  
"Who-who's there?" I asked nervously.  
It's Malik and Ayari!" I heard Malik say. I let them in.  
"Malik, if you ever do any shit like that again...oh, God..."  
Ayari was in the middle of threatening Malik when she saw Bakura looking as if he was about to be sick.  
"What do I have to do to prove to you people that I'm okay?" he huffed. And I literally mean huffed. He didn't sound so good.  
"Proof...reversal psychology..." I muttered to myself.  
"You want to prove it? Then get a check up and if you're okay, then we'll let you alone, onii-chan."  
"Fine then, onee-chan. No, wait! I know what you're trying to do! I'm not going!"  
"That's what I brought Malik and Ayari for. If you would stoop so low as to hurt your yami with no regard to his health, then you aren't my brother. The Ryou I knew never snapped or hit his yami. He buckled down and took the hardships without complaint, living on with the hope that things would get better. The Ryou I knew was my all-time favorite person, my beloved onii-chan, my only onii-chan. But you, you're just a sorry excuse for a Bakura who's let his life and depression roll him over. You're not my onii-chan, and I don't know that you ever will be again as long as you won't let us help you. Be that way!"  
At that moment, the torrents of tears that were held in my eyes spilled out like a breaking dam and I sobbed endlessly.  
  
Ryou's POV  
As Sakura began to cry, I felt my heart melt. By refusing them their stupid request, look at what I'd done to my beloved onee-chan. I'd broken her up.  
  
  
  
I felt myself grow disgusted. At my own self! All the lies and deceit. For what? The depression of my own dark side and self-gain. What was wrong, what was right?  
  
I felt myself get cast roughly, but still softer than usual, to the side.  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
I pushed Bakura's personality aside softly and gained control. I had something to show Sakura.  
"Sakura?" I said softly, questioningly.  
"Yami Bakura?" she said strangely. I looked surprised.  
"Does my prescence displease you?" I asked.  
"No. What is it that you need?"  
"Remember those ornaments you and Ryou made for each other in Ceramics and Pottery? I...I broke them. B-but I fixed it! Could you forgive me?"  
I held out the figures I broke. They were fixed by my own hands now. I bowed in shame.  
"I apologize for not telling you, my foolish little onii-chan."  
I didn't really feel bad calling her 'foolish little onii-chan,' but I didn't want her to be angry, don't let her be angry.  
"Its okay, Yami Bakura. I know you didn't mean to do it."  
"How did you know that I didn't do it to hurt you?"  
"It's because I wouldn't ever suspect that from you. You used to be an arrogant little jerk, but that was until you figured out that there are better things than revenge."  
"And I'm sorry that I broke them. They look okay to you?"  
Sakura examined my work.  
"They look great!" she said happily. Now let's help Ryou get better."  
"Mm-hm."  
I leapt forward and pinned him down.  
"Get off! Get off!!"  
"Malik, get your ass over here!"  
I ordered Malik to get his bony ass over here and help me. He knife- struck Bakura, rendering him unconscious.  
"Okay, now transfer his bony ass onto your motorcycle and haul some!!" I told him.  
"Aye, aye, King of Thieves!"  
"You damn well better believe it!!" I said, beaming. To hell with depression! Sakura wasn't pissed at me!! I ran after Malik, but tripped over my own injured leg.  
"SHIMATTA!!" I shouted in annoyance. Hey, that didn't hurt so much.  
"You're becoming yourself, Yami Bakura!" Sakura told me.  
"And what's your damn point, foolish bitch?"  
Sakura smiled like she was happy that I was insulting her.  
"That's exactly what I like about you. So feisty," she purred.  
"Eurgh!" I groaned.  
How much more disgusting could this girl get? Seriously!! It wasn't like I was her man or anything.  
I smirked as she helped me up, then I licked the bleeding wound on my forearm.  
"Not bad," I said smartly. It was her turn to groan.  
"Uck. You are so disgusting, Yami!"  
"I'm not your Yami, Ra-damn it!!" I shouted. "Now let's go. I'll go with you, so you'll have an adult in the car with you. An Egyptian adult...  
  
Sakura's POV  
  
"I'll go with you, so you'll have an adult in the car with you. An Egyptian adult..."  
I smiled widely. Not too long ago, Yami Bakura had learned an Egyptian spell that allowed spirits their true bodies for as long as their spiritual energy held out. That wasn't a problem for him, not with the Ring, but he only could do it about once a month or so. It seemed a shame for him to do it now, but my brother needed help and he comes first...  
"Let's make it happen, Cap'n!!" I shouted in approval.  
He started the complex chant in Egyptian, but I knew what it meant.  
{THE WAY I WAS BEFORE  
IS THE FORM I SEEK  
TO MY POWER I ADD YOURS  
I ASK RA WITH INTENTIONS MEEK  
GRANT ME FOR AS LONG AS MY POWER HOLDS TRUE  
A FORM THAT IS MINE THROUGH AND THROUGH}  
  
With that, his true form of Touzoku-ou Bakura was bestowed upon him. A wicked scar that ran down his face, tangled locks of fair hair, sinister brown eyes, and muscles, my favorite. Boy, Yami Bakura could really pull off the muscled look, 'specially with that nice six-pack.  
"Let us go, Sakura!" he said, voice slightly altered. "I don't think anyone stupid enough to stop us will question the robes. You're a smart enough girl to think of an excuse."  
"Mm-hm! Let's go!!"  
  
Once again, a rounded off cliffy. I'll update my other stories soon, but I want to finish this one, so be patient, please. R&R 


	9. Tomb Robber's Compassion

Ah, another free day, and my time of typing. The last thing you saw was Sakura going to drive. Yes, she is sixteen, but she never got her license before she moved from...well, you'll see that in her autobiography ^___^. And just so that we're clear... :Yugi 2 Yami:  
  
::Yami 2Yugi::  
  
/Bakura or Sakura to Yami Bakura/ (used to be different, but it kept getting deleted)  
  
//Yami Bakura 2 Bakura or Sakura// (used to be different, but it kept getting deleted).  
  
'Thoughts to themselves'  
  
And just in case...  
  
[Malik 2 Yami Malik]  
  
[[Yami Malik 2 Malik]  
  
Chapter 9: Tomb Robber's Compassion  
  
Sakura's POV  
I gripped the steering wheel nervously. I only had my learner's permit, which was why Yami Bakura had transformed for me.  
"Come now, Sakura. We haven't much time. Get moving!"  
I cranked the car up and backed up speedily after Malik. Tires squealing, we headed to the hospital, full speed ahead. However, just as we feared, sirens started soon after.  
"Aw, Shnap!!" I shouted, slamming my fists into the wheel.  
"Relax," Yami Bakura said slickly. "You are in the company of the Ancient Egyptian world's most practiced liar. Other thieves often called me the Eighth Wonder of the World when I busted out a lie."  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
I rested back in the seat, tossing my hair back. Lies, what kind of easy shit were these cops pulling? This would be easy.  
"License and registration, please," the cop asked briskly. I saw Sakura remove the necessary papers. Hell, I didn't have a damn license, so I had to freelance pretty hard.  
"May I see your license, sir?" the cop asked me.  
"I am ashamed to admit it, but that's where we were headed. A thieving cur stole my entire wallet in the mall, and I was only out with my dear Sakura here. Next thing I know, her brother gets sick and has to go to the emergency room. We really had no time to react.  
"I see," the man said. I could see him letting us off any minute now.  
"Well, as you seem to be in a confusing situation, let me not detain you. Just get your license as quick as possible. And perhaps you should take over the wheel. Sakura here was speeding.  
I suddenly began to panic. What the hell...I couldn't drive this load of camel shit anywhere!  
"As I said, we were in a hurry. She is a quite capable driver..."  
"Very well. I'll let you off with a warning."  
As soon as the idiot went back to his car, we sped to the hospital, Malik's motorcycle long gone by now.  
"I need to call Ayari. Here!"  
Sakura threw the phone to me.  
"What the hell do I do with this?" I spat to her.  
"Hit the little up arrow 'til you see 'Ayari's Cell' on the screen."  
I did as instructed. For once.  
"Now what?"  
"Hit the 'Send' button and see if she picks up."  
I also did that with no hassle. I'd used a phone, just never a cell phone. And I didn't commit Ayari's number to memory, thank Ra.  
"Hello?"  
"Uh...hello...Sakura, what am I supposed to say?"  
"Ask her if they got there yet?"  
"Did you get to the hospital yet?"  
"We're just pulling in."  
"Is Ryou okay?"  
"He's still unconscious, how the hell do you expect me to be able to tell?" Ayari snapped from the other side.  
"I was just asking! Don't get all bitchy with me at this moment; I'm not in the mood."  
Silence. Then...  
"Do you want us to wait for you?"  
"You'd better."  
"Alright, alright. See ya."  
"Ta."  
I know that sounded stupid, but I wasn't concentrated on that. Even if I was back to my normal self, that didn't mean I didn't care for Bakura. He was my host, and Ra-damn it, he was a little like a friend. More of a liability than anything, but I guess that it was my fault this time.  
We made it to the hospital with no further problems, and parked next to Malik's motorcycle. He was carrying Ryou, who was limp and pale. Of course he was always pale. But this time, he was slightly paler.  
"I'm not wasting this spell. Ryou will be my 'cousin'," I told them firmly.  
"What's your name then? Cousin It?" Sakura asked. I shook my head in annoyance.  
"Let's just call you, uh...Yami!"  
"Yami?!?!" I replied angrily. "That makes me feel like the Pharaoh, damn it!"  
"No, not like that. Your last name is Bakura, so your full name will be 'Yami Bakura'"  
I scratched my head, then what Sakura said made its point.  
"Okay, fine, but let's get into the hospital."  
"Thank you, Captain Obvious."  
I ignored Malik and sprinted into the hospital. Several people gave me sideways glances.  
"What are you looking at? You've never seen an Egyptian?" I snarled. "I consider your staring as an insult."  
Suddenly, a little whelp of a kid came up to me and tapped my leg, as she couldn't reach up much higher. Her face was slightly disfigured with burn scars and she looked as if she'd escaped her intensive care unit.  
"Whaddya want?" I asked more softly. I didn't need a crying kid at my heels.  
"Do ya know where the bathroom is?"  
"Uh, no..."  
"I like your clothes. You look strong too."  
"Uh, thanks..." I replied, patting the kid on the head. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to see the doctor. My...er...cousin is sick."  
"Lemme go with ya. I need to get to the parry-medics."  
The girl seemed to be about 4. Poor thing reminded me of me.  
"Where are your mother and father?"  
"The doctors won't tell me. They were in the fire too."  
I rolled my eyes. Why did I care? Because this child was an orphan, just like I had been in Egypt.  
"Come along."  
I took the child with me and ran to the emergency room attendant.  
"My cousin is very ill," I said quickly. "He'll be in at any moment."  
I turned to see Malik bringing Ryou in a few moments later.  
"Who's the squirt, Yami?" Sakura asked.  
"Just a kid from the ICU that's lost her way. I'm taking her with me to go back to the ICU."  
I gave Sakura a significant look and she understood. She took the Ring from her brother and put it around her neck.  
/Reminds you of your past, huh?/  
//Indeed she does. Don't tell the others//  
/Like I would, Mr. Nice/  
//...//  
For once, I couldn't argue with her. I was being a little nice. And I was doing it of my own accord. None of it was linked to Ryou. I put my rough, callused hand onto the squirt's head.  
'Everything will be alright for you someday. Maybe Ryou too.'  
  
________________________________________________________________________  
  
THAT'S THE END!!! ......................................................... NOT!! Sounded like the end though, right? But that's just one of those sucky chapters. I like it, but I doubt anyone else will. And just in case you didn't know, Yami Bakura's entire village, KuruEruna got burnt to the ground by Yami's old man, Akunamukanon. Or as I like to call him, 'the pharaoh with the annoyingly long name'. So that's why Yami Bakura felt all sad for the girl. And she sticks to him a bit like Rin to Sessomaru in Inuyasha, but I got the idea from "Shallow Hal" as well. Thanks for reviewing this story so much. This one will be ending soon, though, so you'll have to make do with the College Years and all my other stories. Oh, and if you want to read Needles, you'd better, cuz I'm going to delete it if I don't get a review or two for it. I thought people would like it better, but I guess since I didn't like it myself, it was bound to be a flop of runaway super-creativity. So R&R, nice peoples. ^_^. 


	10. Two Tiered Drama

Chapter 10: Two-Tiered Drama  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
They tried their best to awaken Ryou again, but were unable to without medication, as it were. After a dose of some, he woke up very weak.  
"Bakura, we'll be taking a blood sample for testing, alright?" the doctor said.  
"Yeah, whatever..."  
I grimaced as the doctors withdrew blood from him. It was drawn from me as I could still feel that much from him, but I didn't have control of it this time. The little girl hugged up against my leg and I patted her on the head. She was warm, but it felt like I was getting a doggy hump. Jeez. What was with all the blood? They'd taken two syringes. How many tests could they have to make, damn it?  
At last, they were finished. Ryou's wrist was purple where they'd drawn the blood.  
"Doctor, I need you to test for anorexia, because that's what I think he has. Could you please?" Sakura asked.  
"Mm-hm. We will."  
The doctor looked at the girl with the gown by my side.  
"Is she one of ours?"  
"Erm...yeah, she is."  
I pushed the girl forward, but she wouldn't budge.  
"Don't wanna go. I wanna stay with you."  
She clung to my leg and I sighed.  
"I'll take care of her for awhile, just to shut her up," I told the doctor.  
"Very well. Sarah, be good."  
"I promise I will."  
The girl grinned at me.  
"So, you've got my full, undivided attention. What do you want?" I asked moodily.  
"D'you wanna play rock-paper-scissors?"  
"Is that like stone-papyrus-knife?" I asked.  
"Uh...well rock is this."  
She held up a fist.  
"Paper is like this..."  
She held an open palm out.  
"...And scissors is like this."  
She shaped her index finger and middle finger into a scissors shape.  
"That's pretty close. So your name is Sarah, eh?" I said.  
/Ka Saraha.../  
I stared at the little girl. She was about four, I could see. That was about, say...16 minus 4...twelve years younger than my host.  
"You wanna see my lucky charm?" she asked me. From under her shirt, she pulled an amulet.  
"Oh, Ra..."  
It was a pendant made of pure jade with a cat that had an eye in the middle of it's forehead in the shape of the Eye of Ra...  
"Where did you get that?!?!" I snapped.  
"My mommy gave it to me, it's so pretty..."  
I grabbed her by the shoulders.  
"Where did your mommy get it?! I need to know! Tell me!!"  
She cringed away from me. Sakura was alarmed by my behavior.  
"Yami, what's up?"  
I could no more tell her at the moment then I could tell Sarah.  
"I'm sorry Sarah, but I saw that amulet before. My best friend had one a really long time...ago..."  
My speech faltered as the girl looked at me. Eyes, one emerald and the other deep blue. I never noticed it until now. And her hair was red, like the flames in a fire, with a tinge of hot pink that slightly off-set the color, with bluish highlights. Exactly like my one true love. Come now, you don't honestly believe I led a solitary life if Ryou is my predecessor. No, I had a wife...and she owned the dark and mysterious Amulet of Bast, the Egyptian cat-god. It had almost as much magic as a Millennium Item. But could it harbor souls...  
"Ka Saraha...Ka Saraha, are you in there?"  
The girl looked confused, and then the amulet shone. Her eyes sharpened and a sinister grin took her face.  
"Yami Bakura, Touzoku-ou of Egypt?" she said in a voice quite unlike herself.  
"Is that you, Ka Saraha?"  
"And if it is, Bakura?"  
"If it is...why the hell are you so young...and how..."  
"Later. The girl knows not of my presence."  
Sarah was once again released.  
"So, we gonna play...why are you crying?"  
It was true. Tears, which I had barely ever shed in my life, save my childhood, were streaming down in little rivers down my face.  
"It's nothing," I told her.  
We never got to play rock-paper-scissors before the doctor walked in.  
  
"It's anorexia," he told us solemnly. "Serious case."  
I frowned. So Sakura was right. At that moment of my undead life, I was being violently pulled in two directions. Ryou at one side, Ka Saraha at the other. It was a pull on, dare I say, my heart. True, as an immortal, I didn't have a real heart, but something there, deep in my chest, was pulling me apart.  
"What can we do?" I asked.  
"We can treat his malnutrition, but he is at the mercy of his disease. Only he can stop it."  
"Very well. Treat him, I will pay any cost for my aibou-I mean cousin- to live."  
The doctor nodded vigorously.  
At that time, Ryou was transported to a critical care room. He was moaning in agony, clutching his stomach.  
  
Ryou's POV  
I couldn't understand it. I did everything right, I drank water, but ate less food. Why was I still suffering? My stomach was being torn in different directions and I knew it was due to my hunger. But the fact was, I had made myself an erratic eating course. Anytime Sakura saw me eat, I was dying of starvation, so naturally, I was binging. However, my stomach had its limits, and if I didn't make myself throw up by accident, I would most certainly do it on purpose.  
I regretted it all now, but it was too late for regrets. I was dying, and there was no turning back. This pain and nausea could mean nothing else. I had all sorts of bodily cramps, not just my aching gut. This had to be the end, and I wasn't ready to go...  
  
Sorry I didn't update in such a looooooong time, but I was totally tied up this weekend. I still love you all! Anyway, I'm ecstatic that I hit the twenty review mark on this story. Thank you my adoring fans, but still, 'specially Mina Chan AMD. 


	11. Take Your Medicine

I know my friend is better at humor than me nearly all of the time, but here goes some of it. After all the angsty stuff, I need some funny snippets. And if I don't get certain things right about sickness, don't eat me. I'm not a doctor or anything.  
  
Ch. 11 Take Your Medicine  
  
Sakura's POV  
It had been a mere hour since Ryou had been diagnosed with anorexia and rushed into the pediatrics intensive care unit, PICU for short. He had been moaning at the time, but that's all I knew. Now Yami Bakura, Malik, Ayari, Sarah and I were waiting tensely. The minutes seemed like their own eternity. My fingers drummed incessantly on the armrests of my chair.  
Yami Bakura was a bit nervous, but he had a reason. Wearing the Ring, I could pick up on his feelings. Right now, he felt duty bound to protect me and Baku, but he also had feelings to his old lover, who'd just now shown up. It was confusing him incessantly, and I knew he hated being confused.  
Malik sighed.  
"Damn, it's cold in here."  
"Shut-up! Ryou may die and all you can worry about is how cold it is?"  
Malik muttered something in Ancient Egyptian and Yami Bakura snickered. That meant he'd uttered an insult.  
"What the hell did you say?!" she shrieked.  
"Nunya bizness, Ayari."  
"Yami Bakura, tell me what he said."  
"He said, 'Stop PMSing you bitch. Ra-damn it you're annoying.'"  
"MALIK!!!!!"  
"I must ask you to quiet down," the receptionist told them, "or take it outside."  
"With pleasure."  
Ayari dragged Malik outside by his ear, much to his displeasure. I chuckled for a moment, then Bakura's doctor came out.  
"Is he...okay?" I asked with bated breath.  
"He's lost a lot of weight, and at the moment, we can't determine if his condition is improving. He is vomiting, that much we can say, and having done that on an empty stomach, he's experiencing stomach spasms."  
"Stomach spasms?"  
"Yes. I imagine he's in a lot of pain, but the nurses are attempting to administer pain-killers. If he'd just stop squirming for a moment, it would help."  
"He's fighting?"  
"Yes. And he's fighting really hard."  
"Let me see him. Maybe I can calm him down."  
I turned to Yami Bakura in shock.  
"Are you sure, Yami?"  
"Quite."  
  
Yami Bakura  
I nodded to Sakura. This was my fault somehow. I could remember my thoughts from a few days ago. I was pining so much over Ka Saraha and my failed attempt to collect the Millennium Items and unlock dark powers. That was when I realized that in my quest for the items, I'd abandoned my wife and month-old son. Our son, Kiyoshi, I had abandoned him and Ka Saraha for hate. And in my burst of hate at this thought, I'd hurt and insulted Ryou, causing him to be angry at himself. I forced this disease on him. And I remembered my harsh words.  
/Shit head! I'll make you eat! I'll possess you! /  
I cringed as the doctor led me to my hikari's room. I could hear the screaming and the flailing.  
"Leave me alone!! What are you trying to do?!?! OH, make the hurt go away!!"  
As we walked in, I saw him bent over double, clutching his stomach. He empty-heaved for a moment, then began to scream again. He seemed to be in so much pain. It would have served me right if I could feel his pain. He was obviously being hurt by the stomach spasms the doctor spoke of.  
"Y-Y-Yami?" he groaned. I grunted.  
"Yeah. It's me."  
I pinned him down with one arm effortlessly. I was temporarily mortal, but my old strength was more than enough to pin him down. He chomped on my hand.  
"Hey!!"  
I cried out in surprise more than pain.  
"Let me alone. I hurt too much."  
"Ryou, these are the nurses that are trying to help you. Just calm down and we'll fix everything..."  
"Wh-why should I trust you?"  
"Because I want to help you. Will you hold against me all that I've done to you if I now want to help you?"  
I took him by the shoulders.  
"Ryou, I'm sorry about it all. The day I insulted you, it was a very horrible day, but an even more horrible thing to do. Forgive me and don't make me have to hurt you. Take your medicine. Take it, or..."  
  
Ryou's POV  
"Take your medicine. Take it, or..."  
"Or what?! I said brutally. "You are going to punish me?"  
"It is not my wish to punish you, but I will do what I must to ensure your health. It's no longer for my own health. It's for yours."  
I stared at him in wonder. My health? My health, not his? But what was going on? This was my tormentor, the person who told me I was fat. But then the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. He hadn't exactly *told* me I was fat. He'd just said I was being a pig. And I assumed too much. Not just that, but I threw my knowledge of his unpredictable mood swings to the air. All the personality quirks from him that I'd experienced and now I forget about it all? What was wrong with me? Was I losing it? Was it depression? What was wrong with me?! Perhaps it was the fact that my Yami sounded like Jack Torrance from "The Shining" and it was scaring me, but that only explained my behavior at the moment.  
"This whole mess is my fault," I said. "I assumed too much."  
My stomach was in so much pain, I could hardly bear it, but I couldn't trust anyone at the moment, not even my own sister.  
"Ryou, just calm down and those nurses will make your pain go away."  
"O...Okay," I conceded. I relaxed a bit and he pinned me softly down.  
"I won't hurt you," he assured me.  
The nurses attached me to an I.V. of liquid that I instantly recognized as ether. I yawned hugely after a few minutes and Yami released me.  
"Get better soon. Or else," he told me playfully, putting one of his callused, worn hands on my forehead.  
I nodded as I began to curl up into a catlike ball. I was asleep after two minutes.  
  
And Viola! The eleventh chapter. And don't expect any new updates. I've just gotten in trouble, so I'm sorry to report that there will probably be a long period of nothing. However, that doesn't mean you can't still review. That means I'll come out of restriction to a lot of much needed love from my readers. Also, I'd just like to say that Ka Saraha is not totally my character. Her name belongs to someone else whose name I'll get up in the next chapter. As for her looks and personality and life story, that is mine, cuz I changed it from the way the other person did it. 


	12. Undead Life

Hiya! Finally, I am permitted to type! Oh, joy, oh rapture...or not... Anyway, here's the 12th chapter, which is skating dangerously close to the end, I expect. But even I can't read my own mind, so I could be wrong. And as for the whole Ka Saraha thing, I'm going to write a story on that too, and it's sort of in the middle of my priority list, so if you really want me to bump it up past, say...the Yoko story or something, just tell me. I type to please more than just myself. Anyhow, I believe the true owner of the name Ka Saraha is Sad Eyed Tenshi. I'll double-check, cuz I'm not on the internet at the moment. But enough of my typed up rambling. On with the story!  
  
Chapter 12: Undead Life  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
It had been a while since the dimwit had fallen asleep. We didn't have much to do but go home, so that's what we did. That is, after Ayari finished with Malik. He looked worse than a burnt match end. I know, stupid comparison, but what else am I supposed to say?  
So, when we got home, Sakura took on the challenge of cheering us all up, including but not limited to herself.  
"Okay, um...why don't we see what's on T.V.?" she suggested.  
"I'm not in the damn mood," I sneered. I cleared my throat loudly, though not with any purpose. I swear, if I wasn't so worried, I would have scratched my butt and said 'hey, I'm gonna go sleep or something.' Shit I was annoyed. Ka Saraha was back at the hospital. And Sakura was fiddling with my hair. She really liked me, didn't she? Can't figure out why for the afterlife of me.  
My mortal stomach growled, but I paid it no heed. I was thinking, damn it! I haven't the time to worry about stupid mortal needs. Even though a steak would hit the spot about now.  
"Sooo...what can we do about Ryou?" I asked. It was obviously the last thing everyone expected me to say. "What? D'you think I'm like you and lapse into denial about everything?"  
Ohh, if only they could see my past...  
"I suppose we should try and make him comfy and get him into a less stressful environment," Ayari suggested. Not a bad idea, I had to hand it to her.  
"Maybe I can do his school work, or something," I added, proud at myself.  
"We want to take him out of stress, not put him in it," Malik snorted. I glared, but nodded.  
"True enough," I said, not very willing to admit it. I blew my bangs out of my face. Stupid bangs. Cursed with 'em in Egypt, cursed with 'em now. My stomach growled again.  
"Ohh, cursed mortal body. I have to breathe all the time, I get tired, my emotions bother me more, and all that shit. Just leave me alone!" I yelled.  
"You got some issues, Yami Bakura," Malik informed me.  
"Noooo, really?" I said rudely.  
"'Cept this time, I think you're just grumpy because you're hungry. Let me see what I can make in your kitchen."  
"Oh, no!" snapped Ayari. "Not without me. They've had enough traumas without you killing one of them."  
"Shaddup. I can cook, woman!"  
"Yeah. That's why we eat take-out at your house all the time."  
"Shut-up! I just don't want you to barf up Ishizu's slop all over me. She thinks microwaves work well to make baked apples."  
"Strange..."  
"Who asked for your two bits, Yami Bakura?"  
"Up yours, bitch."  
I regretted the words as soon as they came out. Ayari was all over me in an instant, and I don't mean in the best way. Short as she was (Shorter, since I was now 6'1"), she knocked me down and sent me into orbit with a jaw-breaking punch.  
  
"Get off, you whore!" I yelled. Also not the best thing to say. Next thing I knew, I was held in a powerful strangling grip. I kicked and fought, but to no avail, despite my massive strength.  
"Guh!" I gasped. "Get...off...ugh..."  
Red spots flashed in front of my eyes. I knew my eyes were streaming. They had to be, she was choking the hell out of me. My lungs were on fire!  
"You're gonna kill him!" Sakura yelled. It was kinda hazy, because my ears were pounding.  
"That's the point. He'll come back as a spirit anyway. If he's not Ryou, I'm gonna kill him!!" Ayari snarled.  
"You know how he is, Ayari. Don't kill him...I want him like...I mean..."  
Ayari's nails, which had previously been digging in my thick neck, relinquished their death grip. I fell back, hitting my head.  
"Damn. I fought and you still whipped my ass," I managed before I passed out.  
  
Ayari's POV  
As soon as Sakura said that sentence, I let go of the idiot. She was in her own personal hell at the moment, and me strangling the damn tomb- robbing son of a bitch wouldn't help at all. The asshole got off easy. With his conceding sentence, he passed out.  
"You're lucky," I told him angrily, though he couldn't hear me. He was such an obnoxious guy! I turned to Malik.  
"Take him up to Bakura's room. Let him sleep."  
"Okay, but I think it's fair to warn you that he's got neck bruises, you animal."  
"Yah, so?"  
"Just telling it how it is, sister."  
I snorted. He'll make it.  
"Even if I had killed him, he'd just come back as a haunting yami- ghost."  
"Yep," Sakura confirmed. "Remember that one time when he died in his body? Some thug wasted him and he came back via the Ring."  
I nodded.  
"Well, wanna check on Bakura while the nimrod sleeps?" I asked.  
"Sure, but I would feel awkward leaving him here alone..."  
"That settles it. Malik, stay and watch him," I commanded.  
"Why me?!" he replied. "I care about Bakura as much as the next lazy beatnik!"  
"A, you're his friend. B, he could handle being alone with you for more than ten minutes. C, he's not a heavy sleeper, cuz he's a thief. He'll feel left out and pissed if we don't leave someone. Just watch him, 'kay? For me?"  
"Oh, puh-lease! Don't try that sucker act on me. I'll omit my time with Ryou to spend time with Thief boy, but don't get used to me always listening to you!"  
"You already do."  
"Oh, right. HEY!!!"  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
I woke up with a migraine and a half, not to mention a seriously hoarse and raspy voice. I mean worse than normal.  
"Oh, I'm going to kick that girl's ass..." I muttered.  
I glanced around.  
"Hey, where is everyone?"  
"They left to see Baku. It's just you and me, old friend."  
"Oh, Ra. Kill me now."  
"Oh come on. I'm not so bad, am I?"  
"Malik, you surprise even me."  
Suddenly, a pang of hunger cut through my stomach. I winced.  
"Damn. I'm really hungry. Go make me something!" I ordered Malik, coughing a bit in the process.  
"You all want me to cook?"  
"No. I want you to cook for me. The women are irrelevant."  
"Ah. I see."  
"Get moving, Garcon. I hate the hungry feeling. And believe me, I had to put up with it until I starved to not-death in the Millennium Ring and got used to it. I'm not tolerant about that sort of bullshit."  
"Okay, breathe!"  
  
As Malik went to prepare my meal, I collapsed back and sighed.  
"I want to keep this body for a bit longer..." I said.  
It felt good to be alive, despite my complaints. To have a heart and to feel the blood pump through my veins. I never felt that within Ryou's body. Never.  
I ate whatever it was Malik set in front of me, and he later told me it was Shake-and-Bake pork chops. Whatever it was, he'd stuck it in the microwave I bet. And I told him this.  
"Nuh-uh. I cooked it. How do you take forty minutes to heat up a pork chop in the nuke box?"  
"Good point. It would take longer."  
"Exactly."  
"So. What do you want to talk about?"  
"Nothing, for once."  
We sat in silence for several minutes. I broke the quiet spell first.  
"I'm going back to sleep. Ayari sure did a number on me."  
"Naw, you just don't usually have a really real windpipe that can get crushed with you caring at all. Not even in Bakura's body, I think.  
"Yeah, well...be quiet, I want to sleep fitfully. I might actually still have this body, and if not, I'll be at the hospital with Ryou."  
"Yeah, I know. Goodnight, loser."  
"Goodnight, asshole-of-the-world."  
  
Not a very Ryou-filled chapter, true, but he's presently sleeping as deep as his Yami's gonna be. So, just review and I'll try to get the next chapter up, though my schoolwork on the weekend is heck. I have 20 research cards, and two notebooks to get in order. Oh, and in case anyone's curious, I got in a tangle with bad grades and phone calls from 2 different teachers. Murder to me! But anyway, see ya!! 


	13. I'm Sorry

I dunno what's going on, but chapter 12 wouldn't get updated for a long time and I had to wait to make sure that it did get uploaded, so if it appeared twice, sorry, but I had to re-upload it. I wing it with these chapters a bit, so if it's not very Ryou Bakura-ish, don't eat me. I just want to make sure I don't leave out anything I'll regret later. I'm gonna try to end this by the 20 chapter mark.  
  
Ch.13: I'm Sorry  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
I woke up extremely hungry and slightly sore.  
"Still got the body, I suppose."  
I rubbed my very painful neck. I'd get back at that bitch. But anyway, pain wasn't exactly an issue with me. I just had a very innate fear of starvation. Starving to non-death in the Ring hurt. Try to sleep tossing and turning in bed with the biggest damn stomach pains in the world, then we'll talk. I eventually got used to it, in addition to being parched of thirst, but I didn't ever turn down food. That's why I ate raw steak anytime I could. It wasn't so bad a thing to eat half-raw steak. Actually kept you pretty full for a while and was full of vitamins and minerals. But I didn't exactly eat steak cooked to the least extent, so Ryou became awful sick sometimes. If I'd just cook it, flame-kiss it just a teeny bit, I bet it wouldn't be so tough on him.  
"So, you up at last, Thief King?"  
"Hey, Malik."  
"Hey yourself! Bakura called you before the night gave, but you were sleeping, and you wanted to sleep fitful..."  
"But I didn't want to miss talking to Ryou!"  
"Oh, breathe. We're gonna visit him in a while. Soon as you get some real clothes on and quiet that stomach of yours."  
I rubbed my heavily muscled stomach and frowned. Yep. He was right, I was hungry. But...  
"No time for food!" I yelled.  
"Fine, but you'll be sorry...get some of Shen's clothes. I think you'll fit."  
Shen was Bakura and Sakura's father. His clothes were a bit 'safari', but they would have to do. And they weren't too tight across my chest.  
"How are those clothes on you?" Malik asked.  
"They'll do for now," I replied. I tried to run a comb through my hair as Malik watched, but I encountered a façade of huge knots.  
"Oh, shit."  
"Here, let me comb it for you."  
Malik grabbed Ryou's brush and raked it down my hair painfully. I yelled in response.  
"OW! Not so hard!!"  
"Oh, shove it you big baby!" Malik said in pure Ancient Egyptian.  
"You're pulling it!" I yelled, switching my languages as well.  
As he combed my hair, I yelled quite a few obscenities, and cursed nearly everyone in his family with my native tongue. Eventually, I ran out of curses and gods to curse him with. I used Ra, Osiris, and Set about a trillion times.  
"There! Done!" Malik said finally. "Now let me get it all fixed up in a hairstyle and you'll be set."  
"Like hell you will, son of a bitch!" I said angrily.  
"Oh, zip it!"  
I felt Malik rub my head and pull the brush through my hair softer. Like a massage. I relaxed as he put it in a very short ponytail.  
"There. Is that better, Thief Man?"  
"Much. Now let's go see Ryou before I get the impulse to tear you limb from limb."  
"EEP!!"  
We rode to the hospital on Malik's motorcycle, and let me be the first to tell you that motorcycles are fun! Maybe Sakura and Bakura would buy me one...  
Soon enough, I had Sarah following me again. Seems Ka Saraha had given the medics the slip for Sarah. That cunning girl of mine...  
"Hey, 'Kura!"  
Whoa, big surprise there. No one ever called me "'Kura." Barely anyone called Ryou "'Kura." Only his girls did, and they had all gone flocking to the stupid dice-maestro, Duke Devlin.  
"Just Bakura, or Yami if you please, Sarah."  
"Sure! So what you been doin'?"  
"Nothing but sleep and eat. Listen, Sarah, you think you can go back to your doctors for today?"  
"Uh-huh, uh-huh!"  
"See you later..."  
"Bye, Yami!"  
Sarah ran back to what I hoped was her pediatric unit. Suddenly, I heard a voice.  
"Ya...mi..."  
  
Ryou's POV  
I'd woken up to a really nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach and I heard my yami.  
"Ya...mi..." I said weakly.  
"Ryou, you're awake!"  
"I don't feel so good. Can I get something to eat?"  
"Of course. Call your nurse."  
I did as told and got some lunch. Had I really slept that long?  
"Listen, Ryou. We have to talk," Yami told me.  
"Okay..." I replied through small bites.  
"Did you get angry at me when I told you off?"  
I choked slightly, but recovered quickly.  
"Erm...well...yes, I suppose I did."  
"Every time you removed the Millennium Ring was when you made yourself vomit, is that not true?"  
"Yes, it's true," I said meekly.  
"Why didn't you tell me I hurt your feelings?"  
"I was afraid..." I told him sadly. "I was afraid that you might hurt me. You hate me..."  
"Bakura, I don't hate you. What the hell gave you that impression?"  
"You yell at me all the time..." I said weakly. I picked at my food timidly. "...and you hurt me, that's mostly why. You haven't hit me for a long time. I thought maybe...maybe it was only temporary, you not beating me. So I...well, I don't know. I just stopped caring so much that I started caring a lot. It's all so confusing..."  
I laughed stupidly.  
"It's all like a bad dream..."  
"Ryou, anorexia is no laughing matter."  
I gasped.  
"A-anorexia?" I repeated fearfully. "I have anorexia?!"  
"You do. And it's all my fault. I got angry for something stupid and blamed it on you. I'm really, well, erm...this isn't something I normally do...but I'm really...what I'm trying to say is...well...I'm sorry..."  
I sort of giggled at his struggled apology, then gasped and put a hand over my mouth.  
"Sorry," I mumbled.  
"No, don't say sorry. You don't need to."  
I felt my eyes begin to itch.  
"Yes I do. I should have known you don't hate me. Ever since the end of Battle City and ever since Sakura came, you've been mellow with me. It's not all your fault, I'm sorry too."  
Yami Bakura's hair fell over his left eye and he smiled, his scar slightly stretching.  
"I really am sad for my actions and will try to rectify your situation. As soon as you become well, we'll conquer this sickness together. All three of us."  
I looked at Sakura, who was snoring like I do, in a chair across from my bed. I suddenly realized I'd hurt her very badly. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I hugged myself, pushing my food away.  
"Now, see?" Yami told me. "You can't do that. You need to eat. Stress and guilt hurt, I know. But not eating hurts more. I know. I've starved inside the Millennium Ring for 5000 years. Only until I met you did I get to eat. Not that I do it in a good way, but you can yell at me at the appropriate time."  
"Okay, then."  
I took back my food and ate it all. Every last bit. I then saw Yami cringe and his mouth stretched a bit. I always felt that way when I was.  
"You're hungry..."  
  
Ha! He's lecturing Ryou about not eating and look at him! What a twerp!! By the way, Shibby-One, my friend and me invented Sakura and Ayari as a model of us a bit. I know all about Amane. ^__^ And I re-uploaded chapter 1. Stupid internet glitch messed up my story!! But anyhow, that's all the juicyness for now. See ya!! And don't forget to read and review!!!!!!! 


	14. Forms

Here's a last minute chapter! Hope you like it, cuz it's 11 at night!!  
  
Ch. 14: Forms  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
I groaned inwardly at my hunger. I hated starving, but I had more important things to do. Maybe that's how Bakura felt...probably not...  
"You want something to eat?" he asked me.  
"No. I'll live. So, what the hell have you been doing since you went to the asshole's paradise and back?"  
Ryou winced.  
"No offense."  
"Yeah...well, all I've been doing is reading a book. 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' by Harper Lee, that's the one."  
I tilted my head.  
"What's it about?"  
"It's about this man who get's prejudiced against for being black. He's accused of raping this girl, Mayella, but even though her father beat her up, the other man is convicted guilty. And they kill him for trying to escape. And the worst part of this story so far is that it's being told from the point of view of a little girl named Jean Louise Finch, or Scout for short. And she's just six when it all starts and eight when it ends!"  
"Is is a true story?"  
"No..."  
"Do you think I'm like Mayella's father?"  
Bakura paused.  
"No. You changed."  
I looked up at him, then I pet him on his head. Such soft hair, so silky, whereas mine was full of nothing but split ends. A pang of hunger tore at me, but I paid no heed.  
"So I did. Well, you about ready to get out of this hell hole?" I asked.  
"As long as it's safe for me to."  
At that moment, Ryou's doctor entered.  
"Good afternoon, Yami. And good afternoon to you, Ryou. How are we today?"  
With a totally Ryou-like attitude, Bakura smiled at his doctor, scratching his neck a bit.  
"Much better. And I am sorry for my rude behavior yesterday. I couldn't think but for the pain..."  
"That's all right. I'm having a bigger problem with Sarah Philips running away than anything."  
My ears quite literally twitched at that. Ka Saraha getting herself caught? She wasn't as good as me, but how could she get caught? Of course, there was constant hospital surveillance! How could I overlook that?  
"Sarah?"  
"Yes. The same one you keep having to watch. You'd probably make a good surrogate brother for her, but I think we've got a very good family for her. The Johnstones.  
"Hm...they'd better be good enough for her. I won't want to hear of her unhappiness," I said tartly. "Me and her family sort of go way back. Way, way back."  
"Don't worry, the Johnstones are quite friendly."  
The doctor turned back to Ryou.  
"Okay, let me check you, Bakura-san."  
"No problem."  
I winced as Ryou was taken from my sight. He was soooo skinny and, well...naked. he was only wearing a flimsy open-in-the-back hospital gown. He was gone for about 30 minutes. And I was so antsy. Malik had long since left. In fact, he'd left with the sleeping Ayari nearly immediately after we arrived.  
When Ryou finally came back, he was very shaky and tired looking. His hand was trembling violently and his eyes looked worn.  
"What did you do?"  
"We took about seven tubes of blood for additional testing and did some intestinal x-rays. We had quite a problem with him keeping that boron down, though. He kept throwing it up. He ought to eat before he leaves. Blood drawing can take a lot out of you."  
I was definitely in agreement with all of what the doctor said, because Bakura was shivering slightly on the bed, but otherwise quiet.  
"Is he well enough to leave?"  
  
"Yes, but I'd keep a cathoder of potassium carbonate on him for awhile. We'll connect him on one and you won't be able to take it off until it's empty."  
"Very well," I replied. "And I know this is going to sound silly..."  
Just at that moment, my stomach decided to growl very, very, very loudly and painfully.  
"Yes. Quite silly."  
I growled inside my throat.  
"Not that. I meant, may I take Sarah home for a bit?"  
"I see no problem with that as long as her foster parents give you permission. But I need you to fill out some forms."  
"Whatever," I replied. Now I had a serious attitude and a serious urge to throw up. It was only two o'clock, for Ra's sake! When the doctor came back, I concentrated on the forms.  
  
Name: Yami Bakura  
  
Age: 19  
  
Blood type: AB (sweet)  
  
Birth date: 9/2/77  
  
Height: 6'1"  
  
Are you currently on any medications? No  
  
Do you have any allergies? No  
  
Do you have health insurance: I don't think so.  
  
Please state your professions:  
  
Thief, Bandit, Tomb Robber, you get the picture.  
  
Are you married: OF COURSE NOT!!!  
  
Do you have any of these health problems?  
  
Asthma: No  
  
Hepatitis: No  
  
Anorexia/Bulimia: I'm not the one with the eating disorder. Ryou is!  
  
Hard of Hearing: As if! Only when I feel like it.  
  
Insomnia: Sometimes  
  
High blood pressure: Depends on how pissed I am  
  
High cholesterol: not really  
  
Diabetes: Hell no!  
  
Heart problems: Why do you care? No!  
  
I finished the rest of the stupid form, then began on Ryou's...  
  
Name: Ryou Bakura  
  
Age:16  
  
Blood Type: AB (also sweet)  
  
Birth date: 9/2/80  
  
Height: 5'8"  
  
Is your family member currently on any medications? Some kind of crap.  
  
Does your family member have any allergies? Is a weak stomach an allergy?  
  
Does your family member have health insurance? I don't know. Ask Sakura  
  
State family members' professions (if any) He's sixteen, you dolts! He don't got a job!  
  
Is your family member married? NOOO!!!  
  
Does your family member have any of these health problems?  
  
Asthma: No  
  
Hepatitis: No  
  
Anorexia/Bulimia: Why do you think he's in the hospital?  
  
Hard of Hearing: he can be, he's so hardheaded.  
  
Insomnia: on occasion.  
  
High Blood Pressure: when he's angry at me.  
  
Diabetes: No, stupid!  
  
Heart Problems: Why are you asking if a sixteen year-old has heart problems.  
  
That was slightly fun, but I didn't like doing all the writing. I'm not exactly tidy, not even in hieroglyphs.  
"One of these days, Ryou, you're gonna make me exorcise myself."  
"Heck, that'll be a drag!"  
I jumped.  
"Sakura?!"  
"In the flesh. So, how did you do on that form?"  
"Fine! Oh fine!"  
I hid the papers from her and grinned, exposing my favorite teeth. The eyeteeth of course!  
  
This chapter was partially for comedy relief, so HA! But I'll get serious- er in the next chapter. Ciao. 


	15. Lunch At Burger World

Hey, when I put the last chapter up, I made a mistake. I meant potassium chloride. I hate it when I get my chemicals mixed up! But, then again, I'm just a freshman in h.s., can ya blame me? If so, oh well. Anyway, here's the story. And yes, it will be Yami Bakura dictated for awhile. Ryou's passed out half the time, and I hate 3rd person omniscient at this point of the story unless I need it.  
  
Chapter 15: Lunch at Burger World  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
I daren't show Sakura the papers, lest she hound me about my answers. Let her find out on her own time. I gave them to the doctor and thanked Ra he didn't glance at them.  
"Okay, Sarah. Go with Bakura for a while."  
"Okies!!"  
The little rat trounced up to me and looked all cute. It didn't take but half a minute for me to disable the camera to our room.  
"'Bout time," Ka Saraha told me after the coast was clear. I rolled my eyes.  
"Shut up, woman!"  
"Is that any way to treat your wife?" Sarah-Ka Saraha said.  
"What would I know about it?" I said sullenly.  
"You'd know plenty. You were a good husband until you left. Kiyoshi missed you terribly."  
I sighed.  
"Hate is a horrible thing. Evil born of innocence is still evil," I muttered.  
"Ugh! What are you, a damn philosopher?"  
At that moment, Sakura interrupted.  
"Okay, so now there are four yamis. And the fourth is your old wife?" she asked grouchily. I nodded.  
"Okay...well I'm going home. I'll just drive, you know. Ask Malik to pick you up later. "Erm...very well..."  
I tilted my head as she left.  
"She gets stranger by the minute."  
"No, you wouldn't understand, Bakura. You really wouldn't," Ka Saraha told me.  
"What are you referring to, Ka?" I queried.  
"Nothing. It's a girl thing."  
"Well, you're allowed to be at my house until, well, five o'clock is my limit," I said.  
"If that's the best you can do..."  
"Five-thirty."  
"Fine."  
  
"You have until five-thirty to do what the hell you want. No drinking, no binging, no cursing, no MAGIC!"  
  
"Okay, okay, geez."  
I told her to leave with Sakura first, then do what she felt like doing. She agreed, of course. That left all my attention to Ryou. I stared at him, sleeping. He shivered, all uncovered like he was. I took the covers up and draped them over him. He ceased his shaking.  
With a groan of impatience, I waited for him to awaken. What happened next was unexpected. He began to toss and turn, sweat beading his forehead.  
  
"What the hell..."  
  
Ryou's POV  
I was in the library. Yami Bakura, Sakura, Malik, Ayari, and I were all reading. This felt wrong.  
"Hey, Bakura, look at this!" Malik snorted. "You're in the magazine's front page!!"  
"Really?"  
"Well, this is a dream, but yeah."  
"A dream, huh?" I said. "I figured as much."  
I stared at myself in the magazine. The headline was quite clear.  
GENIUS IS DISCOVERED!!  
RYOU BAKURA SOLVES PERPETUAL PARADOX.  
"Okay, now I know this is a dream. I can't solve a perpetual paradox."  
I read the title of the article inside.  
RYOU BAKURA FINDS THE LAST INTERVAL OF THE IRRATIONAL NUMBER PI.  
"But there is no end to pi!" I argued.  
"Pi, shmi!" Sakura said. "What's pi to you? You won't even eat it anymore without throwing it back up!"  
I cringed.  
"Yeah, who'd want to be around an anorexic person like Ryou anyway?" Ayari added.  
My eyes began to water a bit around the corner. My feelings were getting my better.  
"I certainly didn't teach freak-o over there that damn trait. He learned it on his own."  
I turned to my yami in shock. He was reading a horror book. "The Shining."  
"Look at Ryou, he can abuse himself without my help! You've learned well, aibou," Yami Bakura said mockingly.  
"No..."  
"Oh, yes. You're changing inside and out, little Bakura. And there's nothing you can do about it 'cause you're just a weakling."  
I gasped at the comment. Yami Bakura never insulted me so anymore. He advanced on me, like old times. I yelled in fear.  
"RYOU!"  
"Gahhh!"  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
Ryou began to writhe in such a manner that the sheets twisted around him like a straitjacket. I shook him, but his head merely lolled unpleasantly and he moaned.  
"Ryou, what's wrong?" I asked in frustration. All at once, his piercing yell tore through my thoughts. It scared me into yelling myself.  
"RYOU!"  
"Gahhh!" he replied. He was so frightened.  
"Its okay, Bakura. I'm here. You just had a nightmare."  
  
"A nightmare...only a dream," he repeated.  
"That's right. Now do you want to go home?"  
He hesitated, giving me a look. It sort of creeped me out. He seemed to be looking into me, not at me.  
"What are you staring at?" I said. "You're being spooky."  
"Nothing, lets get home."  
I decided it best if we walked home, rather than disturb Malik. With the doctor's final advice (eat plenty to gain your weight back), we departed. Ryou's right arm was attached to the unsightly cathoder.  
"You heard the man, Ryou. You must eat now. You're going to do it, right?"  
"Sure I am! I don't want to stay sick!"  
  
I blinked at his sharp tone. We walked in silence for several minutes before he broke the silence.  
"Sorry, Yami. I had a bad dream about you. I just..."  
"It's all right," I said stiffly. He always thought of me at my worst. "You know, Bakura, I..."  
Suddenly, I collapsed in weakness.  
"Hn?"  
"Yami?!"  
I was surprised at the weakness I felt. Not angry, just surprised and curious.  
"Look, now don't you start with the anorexic nonsense," Ryou said. "We're going to Burger World and eat."  
I nodded as I got to my feet.  
"Oh, so that's what it was. That's why I feel sick..."  
"Yeah. That's why you feel sick," Bakura told me patronizingly.  
We walked to this "Burger World." I didn't get out so much that I totally knew every aspect of this world, so naturally, I was sort of confused. We walked in to be greeted by a cheery woman who scared the hell out of me. I calmed down when Bakura got us our seats. I wouldn't be scared of that bitch again. I crossed one leg over the other and crossed my arms as well, waiting for them to bring me my food.  
"Er...Yami, you have to order the food..."  
"I have to?"  
"Yes. How do they know what you want? Look. I think I have enough money to tide you over, so just order anything you want."  
I grinned. Food was good. I stared at the menu. There were so many good-looking things. I ordered a double chili cheeseburger with the works (whatever that was) and I ordered a large double cheeseburger with a soda and fries. That seemed adequate. I goaded Bakura into ordering my first selection for himself, plus fries and a soda. We talked a bit while we awaited our food.  
"How many times have you deceived me thus far?" I asked him.  
"Uh, about twelve or more times."  
"You're getting good, foolish aibou."  
He stared at his shoelaces when I said that.  
"I don't like deceiving anybody, not even you," he told me. "No offense."  
"None taken."  
"You sure like eating, don't you, Yami?"  
"Well, when I got trapped in the Millennium Ring, for the first year or so, I couldn't take the starvation. I was dying, but I wouldn't die. And I wasn't dead, so it never stopped. Eventually, I became accustomed to it, but for two damn years, I was punished with the horrible stomach cramps of starvation. That's how I know what it feels like to starve and that's why I eat like a Ra-damned horse!"  
"Oh. I'm sorry..."  
"Don't be. I got immortality, and I paid the price for it."  
"Well, no more of that, because here's our food!"  
I knew my eyes were gleaming when I saw that food. It wasn't set in front of me for half a minute before it was nearly all in my stomach. Amazingly enough, Ryou ate at almost the same pace as me. We both finished at nearly the same time, then we walked the rest of the way home. I eventually let Ryou lean on me as he became tired. It felt weird, treating him so nice. Not good or bad, just weird...  
"Yami, what'll happen when I die?"  
"I don't know. You're my first actual reincarnation that's received the Millennium Ring, and my spirit. I suppose I'll just go back in the Ring."  
  
"Oh. Sounds dreadfully boring."  
"Why would it matter? It's not like you'll live in the Ring for a thousand or so years."  
"Oh, I don't know. It makes me feel for you."  
"Don't. I don't need anyone anyway."  
Bakura stared at the ground again. Was it something I said? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Was it really something he said? I wonder!! Anyway, straight from the world of Yu-Gi-Oh is Ryou Bakura!! I just borrowed him for a reviewer!  
  
Ryou: Uh...hi...  
  
This girl sent me a review to sort of forward to you, so read it and reply!  
  
Ryou: *Reads review from Ryou's Kitty* 0_0. She ate an entire box of ice cream in a day?!?! Well, I suppose I could do that too...oh, who am I kidding? I've done it before in portions! ^_^  
  
Really?  
  
Ryou: Yep. And I did it on a bet with Sakura too, though that one came out messy...  
  
Sakura: That one time, he spewed it all over Malik! It was soooo funny!!^__^  
  
Ryou: -_-U. Thanks a lot, Sakura...  
  
Sakura: But I did feel really bad, onii-chan...  
  
Well, anyway, what about the cookies?  
  
Ryou: Well, soon enough, you'll see me be eating a lot in the story u_u.  
  
Sakura: Oh, don't sound so downtrodden. Eventually, you'll enjoy it.  
  
Ryou: I wonder if I'll get creampuffs...^______^  
  
Okay, well, now that you've all heard a bit of Ryou-score, I'll just be sure to update as soon as humanly and educationally possible. Toodles!! 


	16. New Regime

I'm back again, like a disease upon all you readers! Not much to say, other than read on!  
  
Ch. 16: New Regime  
  
Ryou's POV  
After that day, Sakura and Yami Bakura began what they called my "aggressive treatment." Sakura got our work sent to us so that we may keep up with our studies during our absence at school, but I didn't feel any better being at home. For breakfast, I had an almost too hearty meal of eggs and toast. Even though I was full, for lunch I was made to eat a heaping bowl of ramen. By dinner, I despised the word "food" and threw up halfway through my meal of fried chicken and macaroni and cheese.  
"You ninny!" Yami yelled at me. I'm eating just as much as you are and you don't see me spewing chunks!"  
Yami Bakura was sacrificing his soul's well being by repeatedly performing his body-retrieval spell and aiding me. He wasn't showing it, but I knew he was getting tired.  
"Yami, you should lie down and get some rest, okay?"  
"Only when you do," he replied to me determinedly. He then moaned loudly and collapsed into his food.  
"Oh, Yami," Sakura said, rolling her eyes.  
"Mff nff yrff ymffi."  
"Huh?" I said, perplexed at my Yami's words. Sakura pulled his head up and (through the mask of macaroni and cheese), he repeated what he'd said.  
"I'm not your yami," he repeated tiredly to Sakura. She let his head go, but it collapsed back onto the corner of his plate and sent his food flying into my face at Mach 5. Now we were both covered in our food, though I was covered in more than just whole macaroni and fried chicken. As sick as that made me feel, I saw through it and to the irony and intense humor of the matter.  
"HA!" I burst out. I then bowed my head in shame. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that.  
"Don't feel bad," Yami gasped, looking quite ill and like a fish out of water. "I don't need your pity."  
I sighed and rolled my eyes. That's what he'd want, so let him have it his way, or I'd be sleeping out on the Domino highway. Even if he treated me better, he still wasn't a saint.  
"Look, Sakura. This eating schedule isn't helping me at all. We should start small or something, you know. Just for starters."  
"Yeah, and you need constant supervision until you earn my trust back," she told me. "Even if I have to make that Ring's strap a chain-link choker, you won't take it off. And if you do make me get the choker, you'd best watch yourself, because after this is done and over with, the bolt cutters might just slip on the chain's removal..."  
I gasped.  
"You wouldn't..."  
"Do you presume to tell me what I will and will not do, Ryou Bakura?" she snapped at me. "I'm not fooling with you anymore."  
I stared at my dirty T-shirt, several sizes too big. I felt a blush creep up my neck and felt my ears burn red. I'm glad Sakura couldn't see them; they turned awfully red when I blushed...  
"Look, I'm sorry okay?" she told me upon noticing my flushed neck. "I just...I don't know...go to bed."  
I meekly excused myself from the table. I swear if H.R.S. could see us now, they'd remove all of us from this house and send us to be committed or something. I had puke all down my front and macaroni in my face, Sakura had just threatened me with bolt cutters, Yami was collapsed with his face in macaroni, and the wall behind me was covered in it. I chuckled a bit.  
"Wow, we're dysfunctional," I muttered to myself. "Good thing Dad visited half a week ago, because if he saw us now..."  
"Ryou! Bed!"  
I cringed again. Sakura was in a really bad mood. I wonder why...  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
It didn't take long after Bakura fell asleep before I lost my body. Who knew spiritual pain could cause me so much...well...pain? I mean, pain that actually hurt me.  
"Yami Bakura, clean up this mess and get in that Ring," Sakura ordered. Now as much as I had grown accustomed to her company, I still didn't like the fact that she thought she could control me. So I answered in the following way:  
"Look, bitch, I'll clean up the damn house, but heaven help anyone who thinks they can force me into that damn Ring!"  
"Fine! If you won't go in, then just leave me alone!"  
She turned from me.  
"Hmph! women!"  
I turned to get a cloth from the kitchen, but something clicked at that moment. I knew I wasn't the quickest person to things anymore, nor was I sensitive, but it finally caught up to me.  
"You..." I said.  
"What?" she replied.  
"You're jealous..."  
I could have smiled. I really could have. But all I did was stare at her, cockeyed and somber. I twiddled around my finger one of the parts of my hair that stuck straight out.  
"Wha...I'm not jealous, stupid!"  
"Yes you are. That's why you're so defensive and all-around bitchy. Look. Ka Saraha was my love then. And I have forsaken her in two ways: One for hate, and the other for someone else. But that someone I could never really like as much as I wanted and she knows it too, because she is part of my family. But that doesn't mean I can't love her. She may be stubborn, but she is mine. Ka Saraha, she was then. This is now. You are now. But we can never really do anything. I like being single and I'm but a spirit. You must accept it."  
I knew what I was saying may have hurt Sakura, and that wasn't what I wanted, but it had to be said.  
"Oh, Yami. I'm sorry to pressure you like this. From now on, I don't care who you like, just follow your heart," she told me kindly and apologetically.  
Follow my heart. But that was getting so much harder to do...  
  
Ooohh! Looks like the cat's out of the bag for those two. And what about our little Ryou? What torturous plans could Sakura and Yami Bakura have for him? Maybe I'll tell you next chapter... 


	17. New Schedule and Nightmares Abound

Ch. 17: New Schedule and Nightmares Abound  
  
Ryou's POV  
The next day, I awoke very hungry. My stomach growled for all to hear and it really hurt.  
"Sakura, I'm hungry. What am I supposed to eat?"  
"What are you supposed to eat," she mocked. "Well, whatever Yami Bakura wants to eat."  
"Huh?!"  
"It's simple. We've made this into a sort of game, shall we say. Starting Monday, which is today, the following order will be followed: Yami..."  
"Yami Bakura, YAMI BAKURA!!!!" Yami yelled correctively to her.  
"...Yami, Sakura, Ryou," she said, a bit of an edge to her voice. She was scaring me. It wasn't like Sakura to be so take-charge and easily offended. Ayari, maybe, but Sakura...  
"And what does this order signify?" I asked politely.  
"It signifies who gets to pick the food for today."  
"Great Scott, you're going to let him pick the food?!" I cried hysterically. "He'll get me sicker than I already am!"  
"Don't worry. I told him to lay off of the hard-edge stuff."  
"Oh, alright..."  
"Now, whatever you pick on your days is your decision, but everyone else has to eat it. Am I clear? I don't care who's finicky, unless you're allergic, you're eating it. Even me."  
I stared at Sakura lovingly.  
"Thanks, onee-chan. This will really help," I said optimistically. "So, Yami, what'll it be for breakfast?"  
"Well, I felt if I would just make my favorite meal a teensy bit more system-friendly, we could manage. Even you, weakling."  
I gulped nervously as he held out a very raw-looking steak-kabob. There wasn't any oozing blood, but that meant nothing. My stomach writhed.  
"Er, Yami? Isn't that hard-edge?"  
"Heavens, no! This is what I ate in Egypt when I was young. Got me sick the first dozen times, but I ate it just the same and my body adapted eventually."  
I didn't feel any better.  
"Bakura, just try the damn thing!" he snapped. "As many times as I've eaten the pure stuff and had you throw it up, you should be adapted to this. 500 yen says you won't vomit."  
"Okay," I replied warily. "You're on."  
We all ate the steak-kabobs and waited for it. Sakura became slightly nauseous, but didn't puke. I got confused.  
"Hey, did you ever eat this stuff before?" I asked.  
"Not this, but I did try the raw steak one time, just to see what Yami Bakura got out of it. It tore my stomach apart like it would yours."  
I felt my stomach churn at the thought of what Yami usually ate, then I waited for it to come up. It didn't.  
"Wha... how come I'm...well, okay?"  
"Easy. That steak wasn't totally raw. When steak isn't totally raw, but isn't totally cooked, I figure it stays in your system longer, ergo you stay full longer. Also, it doesn't cause the ravages of acute indigestion like purely raw steak does. Just makes you feel crummy for a while. Me, I don't feel it anymore."  
I sighed. Raw or not, I could feel my stomach cramping up again.  
"Okay, but I need a bit of rest. You know me..."  
"Yes, I do know you pretty damn well."  
Yami grinned widely at his own intellectuality as I went to sleep the steak off. I thought it stupid to sleep since I'd just woken up, but after staring at the ceiling for twenty minutes, I fell asleep.  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
I traced my scar absentmindedly with two fingers then played with the Millennium Ring out of boredom.  
"So, now what?"  
"I don't know, but that was pretty smart, Yami. Cooking it a little."  
"Yes. I suppose it was smart."  
"Yami Bakura, you aren't thinking of eating that stuff again, are you?"  
"And so what if I am?"  
"I don't know how much more of it I can take."  
"Oh, chill. I won't eat any more."  
I leaned my chin on my hand. Ryou would probably do this okay.  
"I'm going to cut us up a salad for tomorrow, 'kay?" Sakura said.  
"Yeah, whatever."  
I lay back on the floor, letting my muscles relax. I fell asleep, though I was very alert. Being a thief never allowed me much privilege to sleep deep. I usually did sleep pretty deep, but it wasn't because I wasn't aware, it was because I couldn't move my body. Like I was paralyzed or something in my own sleep...  
"OWWW!! SHI-TALKING MUSHROOMS!!"  
I snapped out of my sleep at once, and out of my current train of thought. That was Sakura.  
"Sakura! What's going on?"  
I leapt to my feet in an instant, but I was groggy, so I ran into a pedestal. Pain shot through my shoulder, numbing pain.  
"Shit! Damn column!" I yelled, clutching my injured shoulder. I ran into the kitchen, leaning heavily on the wall, panting.  
"Damn, this house is too...Sakura, are you all right?!"  
Sakura was clutching her left palm.  
"The knife slipped and I sliced my palm," she told me, hissing slightly.  
"Here, let me...patch it up," I said, faltering slightly.  
I found our small first aid kit and snatched out a gauze pad and some medical tape. Very crudely, I bandaged her wound. It wasn't so bad to me, but I couldn't imagine how it felt for her. My worn hands fondled hers as I secured the bandage. She gasped as she felt my fingertips touch her soft skin.  
"Thief's hands. I know they're rough," I said apologetically.  
"Hm," she nodded, "But it wasn't that. Not really. I thought your hands felt nice...warm and caring you know..."  
I snorted derisively at that. Me warm and caring? Feh!  
"That is quite amusing, foolish onee-chan. I am not nice and you know it."  
"Sure, Mr. Nice."  
I grinded my teeth in annoyance. Damn instigating girl. I hate it when she did that. With another gentle press of the gauze pad, I pressed her hand onto her lap impatiently.  
"There. All done. Now leave me alone."  
She rolled her eyes and stroked my hair. I snarled under my breath.  
"Do I look like a petting zoo to you? Remove that hand unless you want it removed by me."  
"Oooh, so feisty."  
I shuddered in disgust.  
"You are DISGUSTING!!" I snapped. I turned abruptly, only to run into another wall with my bad shoulder.  
"Argh!!" I yelled. I wasn't used to having to endure actual pain all by myself. Ryou absorbed some of it as it was his body after all. And I liked the pain. I just didn't like it now. Depression, the Sequel: Yami Bakura's Guilt. Sounds like a shitty soap opera. Or a shitty movie. Anyway, so I was hurting like hell.  
"Oh, lets get the buckets for the blood," Sakura said. My attention was turned to her.  
"Blood? Where?!"  
She rolled her eyes.  
"It's an expression, loser."  
"Shut-up!" I yelled, rubbing my sore area.  
"Come here," she told me.  
I obeyed. With a gentle sweep of her light fingers, she removed the robes from the achy spot on my shoulder. After careful scrutinizing, she told me it was swollen enough to hurt, until I lost my body, if someone touched it.  
"Just take a nap or something. I'll wake you when Ryou gets up and we'll go out."  
Contrary to what she said, I couldn't sleep. Eventually, she gave me a sleeping pill and I conked out for a good long while.  
  
Ryou's POV  
I woke up feeling refreshed and happy. I nearly tripped over my yami, who was sprawled on the ground quite haphazardly, snoring and drooling.  
"Eww..." I said in disgust. He suddenly began to stir and slur in his sleep.  
"Shaddup...Ka, shut Kiyoshi up...snort!"  
He turned to his side and lay on his right arm, immediately crying out and shifting to his other side. His face's right side was red from lying on the floor and the scar showed up a bit more prominently.  
"Gonna get you, pharaoh...kill Dad and Mom...Go, Diabound...can't lose...stupid...hurt...no...can't end this way..."  
He began to kick and moan and thrash in his sleep.  
"Yami, wake up!! Come, come! Wake up!"  
With a snort and a growl, his eyes opened.  
"Are you alright?"  
"Never better..." he replied slowly. "Never better..."  
"You were dreaming about the battle again, weren't you?"  
"No...Of course not!"  
"Look into my eyes and tell me that you didn't."  
"I wasn't."  
He didn't flinch, but he was way too serious to be telling me the truth.  
"I heard you talking in your sleep."  
"Shit," he muttered almost incoherently. "Okay, yes, I dreamt it again."  
He stared at his right sandal as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.  
"Come on, up you get," I said, helping to heave him up to his feet. He simply stood there. After a while, I saw a tear slide down his face. A rogue tear that betrayed his feelings.  
"Yami, it's okay. Just forget about it. It's in the past."  
"Well, my past is coming back to haunt me," he said angrily. "Ka's never going to leave me alone. I've been so dry with her. Damn, what I wouldn't give to kiss her and hug her and...Well, you know..."  
"Yeah, I know. And I wish you could. But she's been reincarnated into a little girl. You couldn't attempt, er...intercourse...or anything of the sort until she becomes much older. And even then, Sarah could feel the effects of such goings-on," I told him truthfully. "Listen, if Ka Saraha—that was her full name, correct?—well, if she really loved you, she'd understand. She'd understand how bad it would be..."  
I shivered in fright at what it would mean if Ka Saraha was his own age. He'd probably...well...you know... and I wouldn't know. But I would know, because my hormones would be pumping like heck and some of the other obvious things...er...  
"I wouldn't ever attempt intercourse with Ka unless I had your consent. Never ever! I've come too far to lose your trust now. You are the only one who trusts me, other than Sakura, and I've tried to destroy you, so that tells me something. Even a baka tomb robber like me gets the point."  
He smirked devilishly as was his right and creepy power to. I'm glad he mellowed out after all of his failed attempts. He's still the Touzoku-ou in his heart, but deep inside his ethereal heart (So deep that you'd be sliced to ribbons before you ever reached the spot, mind you), he is a scared and innocent person. Of course, I could be wrong. Who will ever know? Nobody actually knows the true past of Yami no Bakura, Touzoku-ou of Egypt and sole survivor of the destroyed village of KuruEruna. We knew all of the outlined things like that, but we didn't see in between the lines...  
Anyway, the rest of the day was simple and er...filling. We all had a double chili cheeseburger and a huge bean burrito and that was it. Plus about a dozen sodas. I didn't exactly like bean burritos, but I didn't have a choice. Whose idea was it to put a Taco Bell in Japan? Curse them. Curse them and their entire family...  
"Bakura, come on, let's go home. I'm beat," Sakura told me with a yawn. "Yami here can barely stand on his feet, so let's get home before he collapses."  
I sighed and shrugged my shoulder with a smile. How could you fight with that logic?  
  
Long chapter! Makes up for the long wait. I was actually going to make it shorter, but I took my stopping goal into consideration and also the fact that the internet was out at my house for a while and typed some more. So that's the power of an unwanted delay. Anyways, see ya later, peeps, and don't forget to R&R!! 


	18. The Final Hazard

UPDATE!! I finally did it!! In your face, writer's block! This is one of the last chapters. Oh, and I decided that I'm going to make this part of a trilogy. The first installment (Assuming I ever get it up) is Who Am I: Sakura's Story. Out of Control will be the second installment, and The Thief of Time should be third. Screwy order, I know, but if you're like me, you can read the stories again after I'm done with 'em and it'll click together in the end.

Ch 18: The Final Hazard  
  
Ryou's POV (A month later)  
I yawned and stretched. It was about 7:00 and I was nice and awake. Time to duel, I suppose. After all, I'd made reservations at Kaiba Land for one of the special Duel Disk arenas eons ago. We ought not to change my plans, because this is a rematch between me and Malik.  
I felt a lot better than I had in a month. Sure, when I started the schedule, it was hard. I mean, I had these explicit urges to throw it back up, and I did it once, too. That's when Yami beat the crap out of me. He said if I did badly on my schedule, he'd beat me up. I got out of that scrap with two bruised ribs and a slight concussion which made me throw up anyway. Yami apologized for that one. But I had been consistent after that. Now I was back to my normal weight, and I looked just like Sakura again. Yami was getting the pep back into his step too, which was good. That meant he could control his body-retrieval spell better. If he did it much more though, he'd be destroyed. That's why I tried my hardest to do well. Last checkup I had gone to, the doctor said that he was very proud on how I'd shaken my illness.  
"Sakura!!" I called. "Rise and shine! I'll make breakfast. We have some duels to be done!"  
"Ohh, hold on a moment. I was up all night with Yami Bakura. Fool's dead-set on keeping his body and went and got himself sick."  
"Yami? Sick?" I repeated.  
"Yeah. Apparently, he was hanging out with Malik, who had a serious case of the stomach flu. I suppose this is what he gets for acting all high and mighty with his new body. 'Oh, look what I can do. Look, I can lift this much. Can you? I can summon Diabound. I have my soul monster. Blah, blah, blah, and more show off blah.'"  
"Well...I wouldn't say he deserved it at all...after all, he's been downright helpful. But I was wondering..."  
"Yes, Malik is much better already. It's a 48 hour bug or something of the sort. I don't think that Thief boy is going anywhere, onii-chan..."  
"Like hell I'm not...I'm going..."  
We turned to look emotionlessly at the thief. He looked like trash with maggots squirming on it.  
"Get back in bed," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not in the mood to mop up you puke."  
"Shut up! I'm going to that damn duel and that's final."  
"You can't go anywhere leaning on a wall the entire time."  
"I won't! Look!"  
He pushed himself away from the wall, looked dizzy, and promptly threw up.  
"Uck!" I groaned. I hated seeing anyone else throwing up. It made me feel just as bad.  
"You're staying here!" Sakura said softly, helping him onto the couch. Let's just see how you feel by the time Ryou has to leave."  
"I suppose..." he gasped. With a disgustingly wet burp, he threw up again. "Damn sickness..."  
"I'll go make breakfast, okay? Okay!"  
I was out of there in an instant. 'It's as if that's this family's huge problem, throwing up. Or at least most of us...' It took me about twenty minutes to throw together a nice breakfast—eggs, toast, bacon, and freshly squeezed orange juice. I made some of the bacon like beef jerky for Yami, because he likes jerky, then served it out into the living room table where Yami was lying down, watching T.V.  
"Damn, Ruby. The boy's trying to get your attention. Pry yourself from your bitch to pay attention to Max! Self-absorbed whore-rabbit!"  
"Yami Bakura, what's this about those forms you filled out at the hospital?" Sakura asked dangerously, having just gotten of the phone.  
"What?! I didn't do it!"  
"YOU DON'T PUT THAT BLOOD IS SWEET, AND YOU DON'T TELL THE FORM IT'S STUPID!" Sakura said exasperatedly. "YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED FOR HELP, YOU...YOU...BAKA!! HUMONGOUS, IDIOT BAKAYARO!"  
Me and Yami looked at her strange. She never called anyone a bakayaro. She also never yelled.  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
"Shut the hell up! I'm sorry, alright? Is that what you want?" I asked.  
My head was hurting, I didn't need this aggravation.  
"NO, THAT IS NOT WHAT I WANT!!! NEXT TIME, YOU ASK ME TO HELP YOU OUT WITH THAT SORT OF THING, AND ANOTHER THING, STOP BRAGGING..."  
She just wouldn't shut her trap. My eyes rolled involuntarily in my head and I collapsed forward in a dead faint.  
"Ugh!"  
When next I woke up, I had puke on the side of my face.  
"Eurgh!!" I yelled. It was sticky. The next thing I knew, Sakura was choking the hell out of me.  
"I'm sorry, Yami Bakura. I didn't mean to make you upchuck!" she said.  
"And I assume that upchuck means 'throw up'," I stated thickly. I still felt sick. At that moment, my hands clenched onto Sakura's shirt. It was happening again.  
"Get away. I need a..."  
Wastebasket. Too late.  
I puked onto the carpet. Sakura had moved in time.  
"Urgh..." I groaned.  
"Well, I really don't think you should go to that duel."  
I shook my head, flinging my soiled hair from my face and glared at her.  
"I'M GOING, RA-DAMN IT!!" I yelled.  
"Not without a shower and a bit of a checkup at least," she told me.  
I conceded to that. I was filthy from throwing up all last night up to now. I guess my immune system wasn't built for this, because even Ryou didn't get as sick as I've been getting. I headed to the bathtub, but Sakura curved me into the room.  
"I'm going to have to get in there with you," she told me. I nearly fainted from the thought of that.  
"Well, uh, heh..."  
"Not like that, pervert. You wear some swim trunks and I'll come in with a shirt and shorts to bathe you.  
I slipped into Bakura's swim trunks, a tight pinch; I wasn't as skinny as him, after all.  
  
Sakura's POV  
When I told him to stand still and let the shower water hit him, he actually obeyed. I decided his chest was the first thing to clean. With a hand full of soap, I rubbed his tan chest softly, removing the filth. Wow, he sure was more tough-looking up close, especially when you touched his muscles. I told him to turn, which he did reluctantly.  
"I like it this way," he protested. "It feels good."  
I wondered what he meant; the water on his back, me cleaning his front, or both?  
"Rinse the soap off, Yami Bakura. I'll get your back done, then we can do your hair."  
I soaped his back up and massaged softly on his shoulders. They were really tough, and I don't think it was only the muscle. I think he's really quite stressed out.  
"Alright, turn back around and let the water rinse the soap off. Then I'll turn the shower head off and wash your hair."  
I took a handful of shampoo in preparation, then turned the shower head off and told him to bend down. Five inches in height difference can be a killer. With a soft hand, I massaged the exotic strawberry shampoo down to his scalp. I gasped as I felt several huge scars, but I didn't part his hair to see the marks. I felt his shoulders tighten and he let out a strangled sound.  
I wrapped my arms around him, not really noticing.  
"What's wrong?" I asked curiously.  
"I..." he managed to say.  
I felt his stomach heave under my arms.  
"Oh, dear. That shampoo must have done it."  
He vomited and I cringed as I heard it splatter on the tub floor.  
"It's okay," I said, petting his head. I finished putting the shampoo in and told him to lean back so that I could rinse it. Even so, soap managed to get in his eyes and he yelled in pain.  
"AAARRGH!! Ra, it burns like hell!!" he yelled, arms flailing.  
"Lean back!" I said. He did, and I turned the shower head on once again to rinse his eyes out. They were slightly puffy, but none the worse for wear besides. I finished the rest of his shower with no other mishaps. He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed to Ryou's room like I'd instructed him to and I took a few moments to change. When I next entered our room, I gasped a little. Yami Bakura was shivering uncontrollably and making very pronounced exhalation sounds.  
"Come on, we should dry you off before you get hypothermia next."  
But no matter what I did, not even when I blow-dried his hair, he wouldn't stop shivering. I checked his temperature and found it at 104.3 degrees.  
"Yami, you're really sick!" I exclaimed. This wasn't a 48 hour bug. He was worse.  
"Onii-chan!! We need to go to the hospital!"  
  
Ryou's POV  
I knew the speed I was driving wasn't entirely sensible, but this was my yami we were talking about. I normally wouldn't have worried, were it not for the fact that he'd told us he'd overtaxed his soul and would not be able to return to the Millennium Ring at this moment if he died.  
When we arrived, the doctors told us he had a much worse sickness than we'd thought. He was getting pneumonia.  
"It must be his weak immune system. In Egypt, no one ever lived through a serious illness, so the others never stayed close enough to contract it. That's why he's so ill," Sakura reasoned.  
I could have kicked myself. But none of that now. Now he needed me to help him. And I would arise splendidly to the occasion. This was a bit of a twist on my part, I know. But this should be the last misadventure in this story. We're nearing the end. The point of no return...I'll shut up now. Read and Review, peeps!! And pretty soon, I'll be trying to test the italics and bolds on Fanfiction.net, b/c they said they should have fixed it.


	19. The Tables Have Turned

I knew from the start things were gonna be hazy as far as anorexia really goes...Mina-Chan told me I did it a little off, and I'm glad. I wont mess up again. Thanks. But I suppose it is a little late in the game to change everything the right way, and I knew I'd get it wrong somewhere. But at least the story was good, right? Right? Positive back up, please?! Never mind...  
  
Ch. 19: The Tables Have Turned  
  
Yami Bakura's POV  
Is this what it feels like to be very sick? It doesn't feel good. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to cheer Malik up when he was sick; not if I knew it was gonna hurt me would I have done it...  
Ouch. Pain.  
I can't breathe. Every time I try, there's a weird rattling noise in my chest and I can't do it. Now they're putting a nasty mask on my face and sticking needles in my arm.  
"Emergency...Pneumonia...Critical..." is what I could make out. I coughed violently. The mask was bothering the hell out of me. How could anything so annoying do any good? I clawed at the mask weakly with my left hand as they put something...pinchy...on my right first finger.  
"Mmph," I tried to growl. They suppressed my hand and pushed it from the mask.  
"Don't touch it, Yami. It's there to help you breathe."  
I groaned in annoyance. 'Leave me alone, Ryou,' I think to myself.  
My hair is still sticky hot from being blow-dried. I hate lying flat on a bed. I think the idiot doctors call this thing a gurney. I struggled to turn on my side, but they hold me down.  
"Don't move," Bakura tells me.  
"Let me shove this gurney up your ass and tell you not to move..." I muttered, almost incoherently.  
Damn finger pinching thing!! I curled my fingers slowly—weakly—and tried to yank the thing off...  
"That's...pulse-ox meter...don't...off..." I heard the doctor say.  
The sticky air in the mask made me start coughing again, and this time, I couldn't stop for a long time. I was sooo weak.  
"I hate...being weak...unh..."  
I felt myself go unconscious.  
  
Ryou's POV  
He was being impossible! Anything he could fiddle with, he did! First he started clawing at his oxygen mask, then he tried to turn on the gurney. And he insulted me for telling him not to move before he started trying to pull his pulse-ox meter off!  
"Ryou..." Sakura said contradictingly, picking up on my feelings.  
"Don't give me that patronizing tone," Bakura said as he jogged alongside the gurney. "He's being a git and a half!"  
"And how do you feel when you're extremely ill?" she countered.  
I swallowed. She was correct.  
"Okay, so I act like a git and a half. He ought to have gotten the point before this..."  
At that moment, Yami Bakura burst into a serious coughing fit. He didn't stop for about three or four minutes, then he moaned something.  
"I hate...being weak...unh..."  
I gulped nervously as he went unconscious. He can't die...  
Sakura and I stopped, totally winded.  
"We'll call with news soon!" the doctor told us.  
  
Yami Bakura's POV (Two hours later)  
I opened my eyes. Duh.  
Man, I was dead beat tired. My chest felt all wishy-washy. Come to think of it, it'd felt that way for a while after that bath. A little before, actually.  
My eyelids could not stay open, so I let them close, though I was awake. I breathed heavily and gasped as I felt a strange airy sensation. There was a tube going down my throat, probably down to my lungs. I shuddered. Suddenly, I heard the door open and someone walked in. I couldn't talk, so ill was I, plus that Ra-damned tube...  
"Hey, Yami."  
'Oh, it's Ryou. Hi, Ryou.'  
"I don't know if you can hear me...I suppose if you can, I should just talk..."  
'I can hear you! I can!'  
"I remember how you took care of me, Yami, when I was in the hospital. And now that you're sick, I'm assuming the role of 'concerned hikari' and staying by your side. You probably won't remember this, even if you are listening. Hmm...I just want you to know you're really sick, on life support and all, and you could die, but I won't let that happen, so you shouldn't worry. You're my friend. Friends stick together."  
'Wow, you sound like Tèa. Stop it!'  
"Wow, I sound like Tèa, I should stop it."  
I thought of using our mind-link, but I hadn't the strength to open it up.  
"But anyway, just get better soon."  
My eyes were still closed even as Ryou brushed my bangs away.  
'I'm glad you're here, weakling...' I thought before I really went to sleep.  
  
A Day Later  
A day's worth of antibiotics and a humidifier had cleared up the liquid in my chest. That's what Sakura told me was making me sick. Apparently, due to my horrid immune system, that stomach flu had turned into pneumonia in no time flat. Weird conversion, but hey, I'm a yami. Weird follows me around like the pharaoh after one of my tomb robbing jobs.  
'Can I go home yet?' I pouted on paper. That tube was still in my chest, so I had to write my thoughts. The words were in hieroglyphs. Oops. I switched to a sloppy English scrawl.  
"Not yet, Yami," Sakura told me.  
'I'M NOT YOUR YAMI!!'  
"Look, just hold on. The doctors said they'd remove the tube in a few minutes, then after a checkup, we can go. Okay?"  
'Fine.'  
I hoped they put me higher than the Russian Space Station used to be before they removed that tube. I don't want to feel it. And I like morphine. Heh, heh.  
"Okay, then," the doctor said, walking in and checking his clipboard. I quickly wrote him a quirky message.  
'LET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!! I'M BETTER, OKAY?!'  
I lifted the notepad weakly and he read.  
"You may leave as soon as I remove this tube. Just don't get into any strenuous activity, alright? You could have a relapse.  
Relapse my ass; I'm getting out of this body as soon as I can. It's been way too long without my trusty yami immortality.  
Just like I hoped, he put me on medication and then removed that Ra- forsaken tube. It made me feel extremely tickly and nauseous, but the giddy feeling in me suppressed the other feelings.  
"Come on, Yami. You were so anxious to get home. As soon as we get there, I'll set up the humidifier and you can rest," Ryou told me.  
I laughed at the thought in my head.  
"I'm gonna rest...on that crappy couch...down in Dixie!!" I sang retardedly. Did I care if I was being a dolt? I think not. Morphine is fun!!  
  
So, the idiot is back to being an idiot, only worse. Who else found this funny?? Last chapter is coming up, so pour on some nice reviews to finish this thing up. I actually didn't expect more than fifteen reviews and I've almost gotten forty. Coolies! Anyway, check for the last chapter every once in a while. It'll be up soon!! (By the way, the Dixie thing was from The Haunted Mansion, the morphine thing was from Jurassic Park as the book, and the gurney thing was from Evolution. Don't own nothing on 'em.) 


	20. Back to Normal

This will be the last chapter of Out of Control, so I hope you guys can get tuned into a different one of my stories. By the way, I updated the Pirates of the Caribbean one, in case anyone was interested. Now to the last chapter.  
  
**Ch. 20: Back to Normal  
**  
**Ryou's POV**  
I'm glad this stress is all over.  
I rescheduled the duel to my convenience with Mokuba. I knew he might oblige; Seto sure wouldn't. Today was the day I get to experience a shadow duel. Malik warned me I wouldn't like it, but I decided that I should be prepared, just in case of dark forces. And besides, a duel is a duel.  
"Ryou, hold on, damn it!"  
Me and Sakura were already in the car. Yami Bakura, still in possession of his body, was lagging. I rolled my eyes. And he thought I was weak.  
"Come, come Yami. We haven't all day."  
He shot me a very dirty look as I started the engine.  
Ryou, I need to ask you a fairly important question.  
/What is it, Yami?/  
I...er...CAN WE HAVE A MOTORCYCLE?!?!  
/I'll pretend I never heard that/  
Hey, a spirit can dream, can't he?  
/You bet./  
Malik was in the parking lot of Kaiba Land when we got there.  
"'Bout time!" he told us.  
"Oy, Malik! Your ass is mine the next time you get me sick!"  
"I said sorry about seventy times over the phone! Ayari was counting!" he protested.  
"There's a duel to be played, my friend. Or shall I say, my fiend?" I reminded him.  
"In we go, Ryou-kun."  
We walked in and received access into Duel Area 07.  
"Okay. You ready, Bakura?"  
I nodded determinedly.  
Shadows enveloped us all. They creeped me out big time, but I didn't let my fear show.  
"Okay...terms of this game..." Malik said. "You feel your monster's pain. In the event of total loss of bodily function, you lose. Don't feel bad if you barf. Yami did it when he went against Joey, even though he won. You ready?"  
"I am."  
"DUEL!!" we both said, activating our duel disks.  
I drew five cards and smiled. Malik was as good as sunken.  
"Play one card facedown and summon Headless Knight!!"  
A pink thread connected me and the knight. I needed no explanation on that. My monster's pain would be connected to me.  
"Okay," Malik began. "I place one card facedown and summon Makyura the Destructor!"  
I gulped nervously. This was it...  
Makyura, destroy his Headless Knight!"  
As my knight shattered, I felt a pain rip through me that made me scream.  
"AAAGHH!!!"  
I clutched at my chest. The pain!! It burned!  
"Are you all right, Ryou?"  
I nodded feverishly.  
'That hurt...'  
And so the duel went. Eventually, I activated my Destiny Board, but I was so weak from sacrificing Life Points and monsters to summon Dark Necrofear and I could hardly stand. Malik was right. I didn't like this dueling way. With his Jam Breeding combo, he created enough tokens to sacrifice for the Winged Dragon of Ra. When it attacked, oh the pain!! I collapsed to my knees. However, the Destiny Board was at fourth letter status when he attacked, and I still had 525 Life Points.  
"Shit. You spelled DEATH!!"  
Cool!! I won!!  
"I can duel in a shadow game just as well as anyone else..." I managed to say. That's when I threw up and collapsed.  
  
**Yami Bakura's POV**  
When Ryou won that duel, it made me proud. He was my hikari after all. Even when he puked and fainted, I was proud. I took him in my strong arms and placed him in the car. Sakura drove to the house. Malik and Ayari followed.  
"He's grown up, that weakling," I remarked in the car. "He's not so weak anymore."  
"Yami, he's himself, only stronger. We have you to thank for that. For being nice and around him, not beating him," Sakura said.  
I nodded, and then stroked Ryou's hair, so much softer than mine.  
When we got home, Malik and I played about a million rounds on Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. I obviously did better, having thief's instincts to help guide me to the treasure (and that radar ). And running was my specialty as well. Bakura came to, soon after we got home. He barfed again, then thanked Malik for the good duel.  
"The pleasure was all mine, Sicky. Like I said, don't feel bad about the barfing thing. I did it on the motorcycle too. Dueling like that takes a lot out of you. And I'm proud that you did as well as you did. And no anorexic could do that. You'd have to be strong. Physically and spiritually. You are cured, my friend."  
I smiled at Ryou.  
Yes. You are cured. And may you never stray from the path as before.  
  
**Ryou's POV**  
I smiled at the praise. No one praised me much anymore.  
"You know, we're all like separatists. You, Malik, you hate being around Ishizu a lot. Ayari, you dislike your own father, Pegasus..."  
"Don't say the 'P' word near me," she growled.  
"Okay...and we three Bakuras are pretty much loners. Well, together, we all form a family. A family of friends."  
I sighed.  
"All friendship speeching and Tèa bashing aside, friends are family. And I love my family."  
They all smiled at me and we almost could have shared a group hug. Almost.  
"What the hell do you think? That I'm going to get all mushy? Like hell I will. Damn," Yami Bakura sneered.  
"No way you'll catch me dead in a mushy moment," Ayari snorted.  
"I'm not a mouse, I'm a man," Malik said.  
"Yeah, well your other Millennium Rod can't be bigger than a mouse's."  
"Ooh, now it's on, Thief-man."  
The two others began to wrestle as Ayari watched with a sweatdrop. Me and Sakura embraced in a sibling hug.  
"Well, at least someone will cuddle with me," I said hopelessly.  
"I'm always here for you, onii-chan."  
With that, we turned to the rest of our bickering "family."  
And sweatdropped as Yami lost his body and taunted Malik as pure spirit.  
They'd be brothers, all right.  
  
**THE END!**  
  
Well, that's it. I really enjoyed writing this story and I hope everyone else enjoyed reading it. Now that I'm done with this, maybe I can start up the College Years. It requires some revision, though, so I'm not sure about that one quite yet. Until I update another story, see ya!! R&R! 


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